Holden's Path Part I
by obey2084
Summary: Holden Hoffman is the head coach at Apex Academy, but he was once one of the strongest competitive Pokémon trainers in the nation. Five years after retiring at a young age due to the stress, he befriends Serena and Ash, and is pulled back into the sport of Pokémon battles.
1. Chapter 1

**HOLDEN'S PATH**

Written by Obey

DISCLAIMER:

I do not own the rights to Pokémon. This story is for fanfiction purposes only.

INTRODUCTION:

This story takes place during the 6th Generation of Pokémon. At the time I came up with this story, I had played both the X and Y versions of the game, and took a liking to the style, which is why I mostly centered the plot around Lumiose City and the Kalos Region.

This story combines elements from the anime and the game series, where I made decisions, based on my judgment, on how to enhance the experience while striving to demonstrate realistic events from a world where extraordinary things happen.

Popular characters that are absent include Red, Blue, Gary, N, and Giovanni. Ash Ketchum is in the story and his existence created a potential conflict with Red's, and to keep things simple I removed Red. If anything, Holden essentially takes Red's place in the universe of this story. As for Giovanni and N, the drama surrounding their roles in the Pokémon world was inconvenient for the progression of this story, so they do not get mentioned. Another character not mentioned in Tobias, since he used legendary Pokémon in the anime, and I'm avoiding having them in league competition since they're too powerful.

The character ages were a challenge, and I tried to keep them consistent to a certain degree. At the beginning of the story, Holden is 25 years old, while both Ash and Serena are 20. Ash is armed with his Kalos lineup during this story. This means that the story takes place before Serena leaves the group to pursue her dreams.

This story is a representation of the experiences and observations I made during my days competing in Super Smash Brothers. Similar to that, there is a community and culture. There are alliances, leagues, trainers, cocky competitors. There is respect, and lack thereof. It's a unique world and people become part of it due to the constant inspiratational moments to occur, which I attempted to simulate in this story.

PLEASE ENJOY

**PART I**

"_There's always the possibility of failure. That's what makes victory worth anything. How you face the challenge will help show others how committed you really are. You're a good trainer, with a good team, but you let yourself get discouraged and your pokémon noticed it. Find whatever motivation you need to stay in it until the very end and your pokémon will push it to keep up with you."_

-Holden Hoffman, head coach of Apex Academy

CHAPTER 1.

When the train began to slow down, Holden let out a heavy breath of relief. There had been a time when he was used to traveling regularly, but this time, the trip had dragged on. Perhaps, it was easier when he was younger. After all, his mind was weighed down by more burdens than in the past.

After entering the Kalos region a few hours ago, the train was finally arriving at the center of the region: Lumiose City. Naturally, the train had a large number of passengers who were taking this exit, including Holden, so he sighed as he waited even longer for the masses to trample past him. Even now, he remained patient, willing to wait a few more minutes after already waiting several hours. Even in times when his patience had worn thin, he exercised it. After all, patience was something that needed to be trained at all times.

While he waited, Holden removed his blue hat and scratched his forehead just under his dark brown hair. The prospect of a shower was appealing now, since he'd been traveling all day. Even so, Holden returned his hat to its position and recalled what had bothered him for most of the voyage: His last visit to the Kalos region had not been the most pleasant one.

The Kanto region was his home: specifically, the city of Saffron. Business plans had ushered him from his home on different occasions, but it hadn't led him to the Kalos region in years. It was very bizarre for him to recollect visions of his past here as he began conjuring up how things had probably changed by now, even though he was seconds away from stepping out and seeing it for himself. Once the crowds were mostly dispersed, he made his exit, and there he saw through the large glass windows beyond the station. The sight of the illustrious Prism Tower came into view, which was the location of the city's pokémon gym, and symbolized the grandness of Lumiose. It was hard to miss such a feat of mankind as its silver tower with blue windows was constructed at the center of the city. Lumiose was a giant circle, and the Prism Tower appeared to pinpoint the center of the city, implying that the entire city had been designed around this central point.

Though the sights outside were inspiring, Holden was busy dealing with his bags. He had a couple of heavy ones to carry, so his hands were full, and the weight wasn't going to be so easy. Normally he packed much lighter, but his business required extra equipment. His home was many miles away, so it would be no easy feat having any of it shipped to him should he discover he forgot anything important. Eventually, Holden examined his watch and it was noon. His train had arrived twenty minutes later than scheduled, so he was already behind schedule. After pronouncing a few choice words to help let off some steam, he picked up the pace toward the exit. There were lots of cars lined up, including cabs, and Holden would need to act fast. Unfortunately, the line for cab rides was unexpectedly long. This would prove detrimental for his appointment at 12:15 in the afternoon. There was no doubt he'd be late now.

As Holden weighed his options, a voice called out. "Need a ride, Holden?" _A familiar voice_. He glanced in the direction it came from, and matched the voice with its source: Professor Augustine Sycamore. "Heard your train was running late."

It was a tremendous relief and Holden grinned as he quickly ran over to the car. He popped the trunk and deposited his belongings before sitting up front on the left next to the professor. After being stressed out over being delayed moments earlier, the man he was running late to meet had come to meet him at the train station instead. It was also refreshing since this was his only friend left in the region. "Thanks for the ride, Professor," said Holden. "Believe me, the last thing I wanted was to keep you waiting any longer."

Sycamore held a hand up, urging Holden not to worry about it. "No need for apologies, Holden. The trains have been behind schedule lately. There's been a ton of fuss over the upcoming National Pokémon Championship Series as of late, being that it will be taking place here in the Kalos region this year. But I don't need to tell you that, I'm sure." Also known for the shorter term National Championship, this was the biggest pokémon tournament of the year.

Though the professor looked over eagerly, as if he expected his young friend to announce something, Holden shook his head in response. "Afraid not. Not anymore."

Though he was a bit disappointed, Sycamore didn't linger on the thought. "No matter. It's a pleasure to finally see you in person again. I must confess it's been way too long. I've grown smarter since we last met, but also older. Still, I would say I still got the moves around here…for now. At least, until they find someone better than me to run the research division." Professor Sycamore had never appeared arrogant to Holden in the past, yet he was unusually confident at the moment. He must have made some real progress lately.

It was hard for Holden to resist his intrigue. "I look forward to hearing about some of your breakthroughs. And since you rescued me from being stuck for the next hour at the train station, it would appear as though our meeting can take place with only minor tardiness. And if you'll accept, I'll take you to lunch when we are concluded. On me, of course."

Sycamore looked over and smiled, though he returned to watching the road ahead as he drove. "I'm not the kind of person to turn down an offer for free lunch. I'll accept. But before we do that, I have much to tell you, _and_, to show you." Lumiose had a lot of traffic, but the majority of people actually moved about on foot. The roads were available, but so many of the people who lived here didn't drive much, unless for business. Walking was a major pastime, and the residents were very appreciative of the city's beauty, since it was so welcoming. As Holden looked around, he had to admit, he couldn't blame them.

The path from Lumiose Station took the two from the eastern side of the city to the southern. South Blvd. was a rounded street, like all the outer streets of the circular city, and eventually led to the lab at the southern tip. Once there, Sycamore pressed a button located on the car radio which opened the garage door and he was able to park inside.

"Convenient," said Holden as he looked around.

"You know me. There's always business going on, and I need to be ready to travel on short notice sometimes. Still, it's nice to enjoy things when they work out conveniently on some occasions. Like today, for example. I was running late to my lab, so I just stopped by the train station hoping to offer you a ride. That was when I found you. We can try very hard to control the flow of things in life, but good fortune like what happened today only seems to happen when we aren't trying hard at all." Some interesting words of wisdom from Sycamore, but Holden remained focused on what was at hand. He still had important things to go over with Sycamore once they went inside. As pleasant as things were with his old friend, he had other appointments later in the day as well, where he wouldn't have the luxury of friendship to overlook his shortcomings.

Once they reached the lab entrance, Sycamore stopped Holden at the door. "No need to remove your shoes. I'm going to take you through the lab and you'll want to leave them on." Holden grinned and followed the instructions. He wanted to avoid asking too many questions until they were both settled down but his curiosity was prying at him around every corner. Being a pokémon trainer himself, Holden was always open to gain more knowledge on the world's wildlife. But now that he was here, he remembered what the professor had told him originally, which was what had inspired this business meeting to begin with.

_Mega evolution_.

It almost seemed like something made up, but it was the truth. There were certain pokémon who possessed the power to mega evolve, if the right mega stones were found for the species. This was Professor Sycamore's specialty, and he had dedicated the past several years of his life to it. The significance of this subject to Holden originated from a different story, but his interest remained the same.

"Have a seat. Tell me how things are back in the Kanto region?" said Sycamore. He placed some papers down on the table to his left, but his attention was on Holden. "Knowing how talented a trainer you are, I suspect some of your students must be competing in the tournament coming up?"

Even with the flattering words, Holden let out a sigh. "The ban on my school is still in place. The only way for students to receive clearance to compete nationally is to end association with me."

Sycamore was aware of the ban, but not of the ill effect on the innocent young trainers. "What a shame. Those egos in the Pokémon League can be wretched at times. I'm sorry to hear that. Well, knowing you, I think it's fair to say we can't entirely blame them for their disdain."

Despite the negative implication, Holden could only grin. "I don't blame them. Still, though, I wish the students would have more opportunities. Many of them want to become pokémon masters. It's a pity their dreams are being denied merely on account of actions from Pokémon League officials. They don't even mind that they are denying students the chance to fulfill their dreams."

Though Holden brought up a point, Sycamore gave him a look of remembrance, and he had to accept it. "They _are_ your students, Holden," said Sycamore. "It's not my place to tell you how to handle things out there, but surely you can't avoid the blame entirely."

"Of course not," Holden said, not denying the professor's logic. "But I'm trying. I'm trying very hard. That's why I'm here, after all. This is only the beginning. I have plans, Sycamore. I'm going to fix things for Apex."

Despite what was at stake, Sycamore patted Holden's shoulder reassuringly. "I know, Holden. Unlike the others, I do not hold ill will toward you. You've always been an honest and caring person in my eyes, even if others don't always see the same thing. Still, there was a time when you were outspoken and controversial as a competitor in the sport. To this day, your words have hovered around the Pokémon League and the tournaments. They never got used to being treated that way, and they've never dealt with it well."

"No more need to talk about that," Holden declared. "Business, instead. We should begin so I can hurry up and buy you lunch."

"Ah yes. Lunch will be lovely. Business first, of course."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2.

When the meeting had concluded, Holden glanced out the window from the lobby. Suddenly, he noticed a girl outside walking toward the entrance. Holden lifted an eyebrow curiously, and then he stepped away from the line of sight, though he was unsure of why. Whoever she was, she was definitely coming to the lab, so it was likely a student of Sycamore's. Sure enough, the buzzer rang and Holden looked back to see if Sycamore was nearby to answer it. "Holden! Get the door for me please! My hands are full at the moment."

"I got it," said Holden, once he had permission, and he opened the door. Sure enough, the girl was standing there. She had honey-colored hair with blue eyes, and wore a pink hat, a black shirt with a red skirt, and black stockings up to her knees. When she saw Holden standing there, her first response was to smile warmly. He caught sight of it before she switched to a slightly nervous tone.

"Hi there…is Professor Sycamore in right now?" Even her voice was sweet. When she spoke, she pressed both her arms together in front of her, showing respect.

Somehow, Holden spent too much time looking her over and his response came fairly late. "Yes…yes. Sorry, yes he's here. You can come in. He'll just be a moment."

"Okay…thank you," she said politely.

The girl was about to remove her shoes, but Holden passed down the information. "It's okay, you can leave them on."

In response, the girl smiled and gave a small nod. "Okay, sure. Thank you. I'm Serena Naosaga. Pleased to meet you." She completed her introduction with a polite bow.

Holden found her smile infectious, and he returned it with one of his own. "I'm Holden Hoffman. It's nice to meet you."

"Yes, you too," she said. "Are you the friend from Kanto the professor was talking about?"

Even strangers knew where he was from, though she certainly didn't have any disdain for him like others in Kalos did. "Sounds like me," he revealed.

"Ash is from the Kanto region too!" she explained. "I've never been there, but it always sounded like a beautiful place. Is this your first time in Kalos?"

Holden let out a tiny grunt as he shrugged. "Second, actually. It's been a long time though." Serena seemed very nice and also didn't seem to know about his bad history in the region. It was refreshing, at least, to meet someone out here who didn't judge him over it. At least, not yet.

"Welcome back, then. How long you staying for?" Before Holden could answer, Sycamore appeared in the doorway carrying a heavy box. Serena laughed and didn't finish her thoughts with Holden as she addressed the professor. "Need some help with that?"

"Actually, yes, get the door for me, please. I need to take these outside to the trash. It seems I overestimated my abilities to accomplish the task by myself." Without any remarks, Serena opened the door and helped guide Sycamore outside. Seeing them working, Holden walked out as well, ahead to the garbage pails out back, where he opened the lid for metallic waste. Sycamore was able to dump the contents of the box in there, and he exhaled in relief once he was done.

"Trying to wear out your back, Professor?" Serena finally let loose a remark.

"Nonsense," Sycamore said defiantly. "I may be growing older, but I still have youth in me. My back will be fine." As he said it, he subtly massaged his lower back with his left hand. It didn't go without notice, but the other two refrained from commenting on it. "Serena, this is Holden. He's an old friend of mine. The one I mentioned was from the Kanto region. Years ago, he was one of the top ranked pokémon trainers in the world."

At hearing that, Serena turned and looked at Holden in awe. _He's a world-class trainer? _She hadn't even known. "Wow. I had no idea. That's amazing."

Though Holden enjoyed Serena's presence already, he still resisted the compliments. "Like the professor said, it was years ago." He glanced away, but Serena was watching him. His reaction to her words caught her attention, even if it was subtle. Right away, she noticed he acted nothing like a world-ranked trainer, at least, in terms of personality.

Professor Sycamore sighed and addressed Holden. "I have some bad news. I'll have to raincheck you for that lunch. It seems that I'm needed for something important at the Prism Tower gym. I'm sorry to have to cut our time together short, but I'll be more available tomorrow for us to catch up if that helps."

It was unfortunate that Holden's only friend in the Kalos region was already ditching him, but he had no intention of complaining and contributing to Sycamore's stress. "That's okay, Professor. I'll call you tomorrow and we'll figure something out." With Holden announcing his leave, he turned to Serena before leaving. "It was nice to meet you, Serena."

She looked at Holden with eyes of intrigue, but nonetheless nodded. "You too, Holden." As he was headed out the door, Serena decided to suggest something. "Actually…since the Professor has to leave…would you like to have lunch together?"

The invitation was honey to Holden, but in this environment, his first thought was to decline. If this was a friend—or even student—of the professor's, best not to mix her up in his affairs, on account of his controversial past. Still, before Holden could respond, Sycamore spoke up himself. "That's a wonderful idea. Please show him around a little, Serena. I'm sure he'd appreciate that."

Any previous thought of declining the offer was gone now. Though Holden felt a bit reluctant inside, he had no interest in offending any kindness from his only friend in the Kalos region. "Yes, that would be great, but only under the condition that I pay for everything."

The professor smiled, impressed by Holden's chivalry. Serena smiled thoughtfully too. "All right, fine. Then I'll do my part and show you around the city." With things set, they all departed to go tend to their plans for the afternoon.

Now that it was just Holden and Serena, things were less formal. They walked down Vernal Avenue and enjoyed the sights of the shops, the trees, and of course, the Prism tower up north.

"Have you ever been up to the top before?" asked Serena.

"Never have," he replied. "Never even been inside."

"You were a pokémon trainer you said? Did you quit?"

Since Serena was walking on his left, Holden shifted his eyes to the right momentarily. "Retired."

"Retired? You're so young, though." Somehow it was hard for Serena to comprehend what that meant. In her defense, she brought up a valid point.

"There are other things in life worth aspiring for. I've simply chosen a different path."

In that instant, Serena raised both her hands up defensively. "I'm really sorry, I meant nothing offensive." She appeared incapable of anything other than kindness, so seeing her doubt herself in that regard nearly brought Holden to laughter.

"No offense taken," he assured her.

Once she was forgiven, Serena's happiness was instantly restored. "Well, of course, that's the Pokémon Center over there. Past that, is the Stone Emporium. Naturally, Professor Sycamore helped set it up originally, since his research on mega stones was a vital component of pokémon evolution."

Holden was definitely intrigued by the Stone Emporium. Inside, he felt the urge to go examine the store, but he resisted it. It would be rude to stop to see everything that caught his eye when he'd already offered to buy lunch for Serena. Besides, he would have plenty of time to see more tomorrow.

Serena resumed her tour. "There's Herboriste next, where you can buy all kinds of herbal supplies for people and pokémon alike. Across the street is Boutique Couture. I work there sometimes when they are short staffed. Up next is Friseur Furfrou, where you can get customizations on your Furfrou if you own one. Finally, we have Café Woof and Café Classe as our two best options for lunch."

In addition to lunch, Holden gave Serena an eager look. "And coffee?"

She couldn't resist a laugh. "And coffee."

Naturally, Holden looked to Serena for the verdict. "Which place is better?"

With the pressure on her, Serena seemed unsure of what to declare. "They're both very nice. I'm not sure which people consider the best."

At her statement, Holden shook his head and gently placed a hand on Serena's right shoulder. She looked up and paused to see he was very calm. "Tell me which one _you_ like best?"

Holden's words of encouragement cleared her indecision up swiftly. "Café Classe."

"Sounds classy," said Holden. The two of them entered together and the hostess offered them a table quickly. Once they looked over the menus, they ordered right away. After all, it was getting late now since they had taken their time sight-seeing on Vernal Avenue, so their appetites were high.

Once the coffee arrived, Holden's eyes lit up. Saffron Tranquility: his favorite blend from back home. Holden offered to fill Serena's cup, but she declined. "I don't drink it. Sometimes, I drink tea, but that's about it."

While he'd been conservative before, Holden opened up a bit more now. "Come on, I'm buying after all. You can have some. Just one cup. I'll put in extra cream and sugar for you." His urging appeared to sway her, though she giggled in response to his pushing. Serena didn't order coffee on a normal day, but in response to a friendly offer, she didn't mind accepting.

Once both cups of coffee were ready to drink, they both enjoyed their beverages, and conversation resumed. Serena led things off. "So how did you meet Professor Sycamore originally?"

"We met when I was sixteen, actually. He gave me some advice on pokémon that I still carry with me to this day. He told me, 'Always remember to consider your pokémon's feelings as you would any member of your family.'" It was cheesy advice, but to a child, it was highly influential. If only Holden could help Serena understand the effect it had on him.

"That's wonderful advice," said Serena in agreement. "And he's absolutely right, of course. They're members of our family." Her eyes glistened as she spoke with her sweet voice. She had removed her hat upon sitting down, so now her honey-colored hair was looser, and it was as elegant as her eyes. She seemed younger than Holden, but he found her presence very pleasant.

"When I turned eighteen, I told the Professor something as well," explained Holden. "I told him, 'Pokémon deserve as much credit as the trainers. Perhaps, even more.' After that, I came up with some ideas and beliefs about the role relationships between pokémon and humans that most of the pokémon league considered…_unethical_."

Even as he said it, Holden cursed at himself. Just when he was starting to make a new friend in this region, he had inadvertently brought up the past. Now, it would be difficult to explain such issues with a young girl who was nothing but kind. It would have been better to bring it up another time, if even at all. "Unethical?" it didn't get by her, of course. "What do you mean?"

Rather than try and explain it, Holden attempted to drop it. "It's nothing. All in the past now. Those days are far behind me." After a good drink of hot coffee, Holden changed the subject. "Tell me about you, Serena. You work at Boutique Couture? What do you do there?"

Though the subject of Holden's beliefs had just been present, Serena willingly dropped it to keep up manners and positivity. "Yes, I work there sometimes, but normally I'm busy being a pokémon performer. That's my dream: To be the world's greatest pokémon performer." After sharing her dream, Serena couldn't help but switch over to being bashful. "Sorry to go off a little bit there. I suppose being a pokémon trainer is pretty amazing in comparison to being a performer."

Holden had met many people over the years, but it was the first time he'd met a pokémon performer. "I've seen pokémon performers on the television sometimes, but I've never met one before. And you may say that, but I don't think I agree."

Serena was a bit confused. "You don't?"

First, Holden elected to clarify. "I don't agree that being a trainer is amazing in comparison. We all have our own roles in the world, and it would be unfair to honestly claim one is more worthwhile than another. Besides, if I had to say, I would respect a pokémon performer more than I respect the majority of elite pokémon trainers." Once again, Holden had gone too far with his personal beliefs. He wanted to kick himself if it was possible. Why did he always end up speaking negatively? It was practically unavoidable for him.

While he pondered his reasoning, Serena absorbed his words of wisdom. After a few moments, she gently placed her right hand on Holden's left on the table top. "Thank you. That's very kind of you. It means a lot to me, especially coming from a world ranked trainer. And I don't care even if it was years ago, and you retired, and don't respect the trainers today. You are a kind person."

Though Serena's words were kind, Holden shrugged as he resisted the praise. "Well…maybe."

She gave him a confused look, and then took a sip of coffee to give her time to think of a response. "You know what I just thought of?" He shook his head, and she said it. "Nice people aren't just nice to others: they're nice to themselves as well." Holden grinned as he considered the statement, and Serena grinned back. "I believe you're a nice person, and you shouldn't criticize yourself. Imagine all the good you could accomplish if you didn't get hung up on negative thoughts? I try to always be positive, even though it isn't always easy."

When she paused to study Holden's reaction, she became aware he was suddenly deep in thought surrounding her advice. After several moments of silence, Serena shook her head and held her hands up. "I'm sorry, guess I went off again."

"No, that's fine," said Holden, with a smile suddenly upon his face. "Remember; don't be so critical of yourself." Serena leaned her head back as she laughed, having violated her very own words of encouragement. However, neither of them utilized any bit of pressure over the other, and they merely enjoyed their time together. The entire time, Serena's eyes stayed locked with Holden's, and he was practically hypnotized. This lunch had gone much different than one with the professor would have ever gone.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3.

Eventually, Holden had to leave to tend to his next appointment, so he had to say goodbye to Serena. It had been very refreshing to make a new friend out here, but he still had his work to deal with. There were people counting on him back home, and he couldn't let his time here go to waste.

Besides, his next stop wouldn't be met with kindness.

"Hey, Holden. Will you be free later tonight?" asked Serena. He paused to think it over, since there were a few different stops still on his schedule. Eventually, he leaned his head to the side, suggesting that he wasn't sure. "Well, if you need, I could…be your guide. During your trip, I mean. That way, you won't be alone the entire time."

Holden had no objection to her offer. "That sounds good. I appreciate it, but what about your work? I don't want to inconvenience you."

"Don't worry. I don't have anything scheduled for a couple of weeks. I just need to keep updating my profile and responding to fan mail, which I can do when you're in meetings or something."

One look at Serena's smiling face and Holden was quick with his answer. "That would be great," That said, Holden considered his next destination and let out a sigh. "I think you'd better skip out on my next trip, but I can find you again once I return to Lumiose in a couple of hours."

With that said, Serena and Holden exchanged numbers. After that, it was time to return to business, so Holden had to say goodbye. If anything, he would have preferred to stay with her rather than face the next appointment. Things were liable to get ugly ahead.

Eventually, Holden returned to the train station and took the next one to Shalour City. The town was on the west coast of the Kalos region, so the weather took a chilly turn, though evening hadn't even fallen yet. Despite the cold, the city had lots of natural beauty, especially with the mountains there to contribute. In fact, the Kalos region had countless sights of interest, though Holden was still most associated with his home back in Saffron City. Somehow, he'd always been satisfied with his home, even with how many different unique regions existed in the world of pokémon.

Now that Holden was in Shalour, his next destination would be the city's gym. The gym specialized in fighting type pokémon and the prize for winning a battle against the gym leader was the Rumble Badge. And it was that gym leader who Holden was here today to visit.

Once Holden got off the train, he began to hike north toward the Tower of Mastery, which was the landmark that helped identify the location of the gym, though it wasn't difficult to find. There was a bridge that connected the town down south with the gym up north. The only way to reach it was to walk, so Holden got stepping. It would take almost an hour to reach his destination, but he wasn't going to let it deter him. His appointment had been at two o'clock, but it was three o'clock now. Hopefully, this could be excused.

After the hour passed, Holden reached the entrance to the gym. It was a giant castle, with what resembled a palace up front as the gym lobby. As he stood to look it over briefly, a figure appeared in the doorway. It was a young woman, and she seemed to float toward him. When she was closer, Holden could see the roller blades she had on, which explained her movement. The long head of blonde hair covered in a helmet confirmed her identity in seconds: Korrina. In addition, the figure of her trademark pokémon, Lucario, revealed himself as well.

Though Holden raised his chin in greeting, Korrina wasn't smiling. In fact, she looked upset to see him, though it had been years. "Grandfather told me you were coming here. I almost didn't believe it myself." She was dressed like some sort of rollerblading cheerleader, in red and white colors. She had grown taller since Holden had seen her last, but it felt as though she was acting exactly the same as before. Lucario grunted and seemed to possess the same degree of displeasure toward Holden as Korrina.

_Patience_. That was the name of the game, and Holden was playing to win. "The City of Awakening. Has a nice ring to it." Small-talk, manners, composure, anything he could tap into to keep things civil. Besides, he wasn't here to meet with Korrina: he was actually here to meet with her grandfather, Gurkinn. In truth, he was the original gym leader and still held rights to the gym, though he had granted Korrina much of them by now.

The blonde gym leader pouted and didn't respond to Holden's small talk in the slightest. He hated seeing her act that way, but he was quiet. Patience. Finally, she broke her silence. "All I need to do is say one word, and I could have you removed from the property. You shouldn't be here. Grandfather wouldn't blame me if I did. You should know better than to step onto this island. You should know better."

Even with patience on his mind, Holden had to get his audience with Gurkinn, and this pest wasn't going to prevent him on account of her temper. "I get it, you don't like me. I don't blame you. But I came a long way and I just want to speak with Gurkinn. Nice and civil, like adults. There's no need to resort to anger. I'm not here to cause trouble." Would it be enough? He certainly hoped so.

It wasn't long before he got his answer. "No. Just leave." In addition, Lucario took a few steps forward, and his palms began to glow with blue light. Was this a threat? Even if it was, Holden needed to stand his ground, though it was easier said than done.

"That's enough," a new voice commanded, and it belonged to Gurkinn. He appeared in the doorway to the gym, looking exactly the same as he did years ago. His hair was a very pale white, and his two eyebrows were massive. He would always wear a light sweater over his regular shirt. This time around, it was light purple over a red shirt. Also, just like in the past, he had a stern look in his weathered face. "The man traveled all this way. Perhaps, he deserves a chance to speak his case…perhaps."

Holden quickly seized the opening. "Thank you, sir. Yes, it was a long trip. But I'm here now, and I'm eager to speak with you. You've got quite a place here." He moved too quickly and sensed he was going off, which wouldn't help his case with this stubborn old man.

"Spare me the empty gestures," said Gurkinn, remaining unkind. "Now, I've gone against my judgment years ago and decided to permit you entry into our gym once again, on account of your supposed business proposition. If you make a mockery of our generosity here, I assure you, you'll regret it. Now then, enter, and let's get this over with."

Despite the apparent hostility, Holden actually preferred it coming from Gurkinn in contrast to Korrina. With the old man, it came from a person of reverence and respect, but with his granddaughter, it was a spoiled child who was always in a bad mood. In addition, the origin of the majority of Korrina's disdain for Holden came from one simple fact: he'd always bested her in tournament matches. At least with Gurkinn, he would only support what he felt was right, even if wasn't what Korrina wanted to hear.

That was the reason Holden had sought an audience with him today instead of her.

Once inside, the gym was filled with people training. Even now, things were busy, and reasonably so. With the Pokémon League Championship Series fast approaching, the locals were hard at it, eager to place well. It turned out Gurkinn wasn't kidding about putting his work on pause for Holden, and he made sure to remind himself of it. This was an opportunity that he couldn't waste.

Eventually, they all entered the office and sat down. Even now, Korrina was still butting in, and Holden finally had to accept the reality that she would be in on the meeting as well. That didn't bode well for him going forward. Then again, if he made progress with Gurkinn, it would be entertaining seeing her grow furious when her grandfather didn't see eye-to-eye with her.

"Now then," Gurkinn spoke first. "You're here in the Kalos region to help run events advertising the National Championship Series? How the hell did you ever land something like that?"

His tone was so serious that Holden fought hard to resist smiling in any form. He had to be serious, and he had to be patient. "I owed some favors to some people, and I decided to make good on all of them in one trip. Turns out it is work, too, so I get paid. Nothing wrong with putting in good work." There was nothing dishonest about it coming from Holden, yet Korrina stared at him as if he was completely lying. How could he possibly steer clear of her wrath?

"You think you know about hard work? Running the best gym in the region is my job, and it is no easy task, I assure you." Inside, Holden wanted to laugh, since the Shalour gym was significantly lower ranked compared to others in the region. After all, it was only a fighting type gym, and there wasn't anything truly remarkable about it. Still, the man known as Gurkinn was highly-revered as the most famous pokémon guru. His words were to be respected. "Still, you are a working man, Holden Hoffman, so I'm granting you that much. You wanted an audience with me, and now you've got it. Tell me what it is you seek."

It was hard to jump right into things, but Holden knew that's what Gurkinn preferred, so there was no need to delay. "The reason I've traveled all the way out to the Kalos region—and specifically to this gym to see you—is that I need to ask you for a favor. A favor that I'm willing to pay for, and not just with money."

Korrina looked on curiously while Gurkinn remained uninspired. "What favor do you want from me?"

It was now or never. "I have come to ask you to speak with the other Pokémon League Council…to suggest lifting the ban from students of my academy from competing in league tournaments."

While Gurkinn was motionless, Korrina laughed loudly and mockingly. "You really think we'd ever do that? You've lost your mind."

"That's enough, Korrina," Gurkinn said sternly, silencing her in a heartbeat. Still, he didn't look happy to hear Holden's request, so things remained grim. "You want us to support your academy all these years later? And what do you hope to offer us in return?"

At least Gurkinn had granted Holden this much time to say his piece. "I can lend my resources to put Shalour City Gym in the spotlight. We have donations available as well, and I'm more than willing to work events myself. The students are the reason I've come all this way, Gurkinn. They are strong, dedicated, passionate pokémon trainers, and they're young and innocent. They don't deserve to suffer on account of things I did years ago. Enough time has passed, and they deserve a chance to compete in the National Championship series."

Holden's passion was genuine, and for just a moment, he felt that Gurkinn would be convinced by it. Everything he said had been the truth, and that was what it took to communicate with the pokémon guru. It took honesty and commitment. Holden was capable of both.

Even so, Gurkinn's response came moments later. "When the Pokémon League Council took the vote to place the ban on Apex Academy, all eleven members—including me—approved it. A unanimous decision. We all firmly believed your lessons were unethical and toxic to the world of pokémon trainers. I've never regretted my decision, and I assure you, the others haven't either. This is the way of a system. We are organized and coordinated, and we have been most effective this way. If I were to invite disorganization into the council, it would damage what we've spent years working toward. Therefore, I must tell you _no_. I will not grant you this favor. I will not."

It was a sinking feeling of cold pain. Holden heard the words and could only nod quietly; fighting every urge he had to unleash his anger for Gurkinn to hear. This wasn't a man he could bargain with, and his one hope was that the old man would take sympathy to the thought of students being denied opportunity. However, it hadn't been enough to overcome the grudge from years ago.

"You want to speak about your students?" Gurkinn wasn't finished. "You want to tell me I'm denying them opportunities? Consider your stance, and your academy, and know that no one is denying them more than _you_. Your school is banned from sending students into league tournaments, yet you're still roping them in large numbers. If you want to do what is right for them, you should tell them all the truth from the beginning…or perhaps, close down your school. Think about that on your walk back to the town."

Even with the cooler weather, the walk back to Shalour City was twice as burdensome for Holden. He couldn't stop thinking about Gurkinn's cold words and he wished things had gone differently in there. What else could he do to reason with the old man? If Holden had ever thought his actions years ago would land this much trouble for his academy so many years down the line, he would have done things differently. Yet, there was no way to undo the past now, and he had to move forward. Somehow, someway, he needed to work hard to help his academy.

That was his motivation now.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4.

After a rough meeting in Shalour City, Holden took the train back east to Lumiose. Once he arrived, he gave Serena a call on the phone. Hopefully, she was still willing to be his guide, because he needed to get around to different buildings and didn't know the area at all. Luckily, she answered his call and came to meet him at the station right away.

"Welcome back," said Serena. "How'd it go with Korrina?"

That caused Holden to lift an eyebrow. "You know her?"

Seemingly oblivious of Holden's conflicts with Korrina, Serena was simply being pleasant as she spoke. "Yes, we're friends. You said you went to the Shalour City Gym right? So you met with her?" Serena was so sweet and kind, so it was impossible for Holden to picture her being friends with someone as spoiled and rotten as Korrina. He was slow to respond as he was trying to make sense of it. Perhaps, Serena's kindness was dosed in naiveté as well.

Even if that were so, Holden didn't harbor any ill will toward Serena on account of it, or anything else. "I met with her grandfather," said Holden, trying to steer away from the friendship of Serena and Korrina. "He's not exactly my biggest fan. Things didn't work out." His disappointment was hard to conceal, though he did manage to hide just how angry he had been earlier. The last thing he wanted to do was stir any conflict with the only other person who was offering him friendship out here.

Serena remained positive, but her smile lessened upon learning of Holden's disappointment. "I'm sorry to hear that. Gurkinn is known for being really intense. I guess it makes sense he would be difficult to work things out with." Serena took Holden's hand and held it gently, further expressing her empathy. "It's nice to meet friendly people out in the world, but I guess it's never something we can take for granted."

At that remark, Holden couldn't resist grinning in approval. "In my experience, I've met more hostility than friendship. Still, I used to bring it on to myself pretty easily. I can't really blame the way they feel toward me now. It's…it's hard to explain." He didn't want to put himself down too much in front of Serena, but he was a very honest man, so refraining from sharing the truth from her was challenging. Once again, he was steering off course, so he quickly avoided the path of negativity, especially once he glanced at his watch and noticed the time. "Can you take me to Hotel Richissime? I'm running super late, and I don't know where it is."

Sensing Holden's urgency, Serena snapped into action. "Of course, I will. It's north of here. I brought my car this time and I'll drive you." That was a relief for Holden, since he was still tired from the long walk in Shalour. He nodded and Serena took his hand and led him outside to where she was parked. She had a small white convertible, stylish even for her. Once she unlocked it, Holden almost felt like he was unworthy to ride in it.

"Where did you get this? It's fancy."

"My mother helped me out. We have to hurry, though, so get in. It's hard to park over there sometimes."

Holden regained his focus and climbed into the car. Once he was strapped in, Serena took off and sped up North Boulevard. She was driving surprisingly fast, and Holden gripped the handle above him nervously. Eventually, he decided to speak up. "It's okay if I'm a little late, Serena. You don't need to drive so fast."

Serena was giggling, but when she saw Holden's nervous face she simmered down and let off the gas. "Sorry, guess I got a little excited. I just don't want you to be late. And I want to help out."

Her words were very solemn, and Holden smiled back at her as he loosened his grip on the handle above. "You've been a great help to me. Don't worry about that." Holden had a talent for calming down others with his voice. He was a man who worshipped patience after all, and his ideology had been the backbone behind his academy. It was patience that he preached to all his students, and patience that had gotten Apex Academy into the headlines. Then things took a different turn when Holden began talking too much, and suddenly patience was joined alongside arrogance. Holden went from an influential trainer to a loathed one.

He learned so much since then.

Even though she slowed down, Serena got Holden to the Hotel Richissime very quickly. Right as they arrived, a parking spot opened up and Serena seized it. "See? Things are looking up for us already."

Holden noticed that she spoke as if his affairs were hers now as well, and was very grateful for her care. "This time, you're more than welcome to go in with me. Things should go much smoother this meeting."

Serena nodded and didn't withhold her curiosity. "What are you trying to do here?"

"I am going to negotiate hotel rooms for students who want to travel here to watch the National Pokémon Championship Series in person. To do that, I need a deal on hotel rooms, so I'll offer them a variety of services." As he explained it, Serena remained in the dark. She had never spent time with anyone who worked like Holden did. He was on the move, and speaking politically, whereas Serena preferred simpler communication. After all, her work being a pokémon performer was not about complicated negotiations…at least, it hadn't been yet. Perhaps, she could learn a few things by paying attention to how Holden performed _his_ line of work.

Once they arrived in the hotel lobby, a man in a black tuxedo was there to greet him. "Good afternoon, Mr. Hoffman. My name is Yuji Shinobu, and I'm the senior manager to the hotel."

Holden gave a handshake to the polite hotel manager. "Thank you for the warm welcome. This is my friend, Serena Naosaga. If it's not a bother, she would like to sit down with us during the meeting. Don't worry, she's harmless though." Even after saying it, Holden glanced at her in a pestering manner, and she smiled at his joke.

Mr. Shinobu shook Serena's hand as well and gave equal hospitality. "That's perfectly mine, Miss Naosaga. It's an honor to have a celebrity pokémon performer visiting our hotel today." Though Holden knew that Serena was popular, he was beginning to fully realize how much fame she had. It was impressive that despite her young age, she was already on her way up in life.

The meeting reconvened in the office near the lobby. Once everyone was sitting, Mr. Shinobu got into it. "So you need a total of eight hotel rooms during the National Championship? That's no small feat, Mr. Hoffman. Our rates are significantly higher on those days. After all, the event is in our hometown this year! It's probably the biggest event to ever take place in Lumiose. By next weekend, every room will be booked."

Holden was going into the meeting already aware of all of that. "I understand that, Mr. Shinobu, and I appreciate you meeting me here today. Money is a bit tight for Apex Academy right now. Otherwise, I'd merely match your rates. So instead, I wish to parlay with you. Surely, I can arrange to help out with your lovely hotel?"

Mr. Shinobu leaned back in his seat and scratched his small beard as he thought it over. "What kind of favors can you offer? I don't have the best imagination in this line of work, Mr. Hoffman. Please enlighten me." While he was a friendly person, Mr. Shinobu still ran a business, and he couldn't merely hand out favors to everyone who walked through the door.

Though Holden paused for a moment, it was only to gather the thoughts he'd previously organized for this negotiation. "First of all, I can advertise for your gym in the Kanto region. It may be in another region, but it is close enough that travelers journey from Kanto to Kalos fairly often. In fact, many of the ones who do are trainers, who are often young, and having a hotel in mind ahead of time will help ease their troubles and be more inviting to them. Besides, the ones with wealthy families will give their kids money to afford the hotels, and so you will mostly see them walking into your lobby." While he brought up a lot of good points, Holden was only just beginning. "As for my involvement, I have connections with the dining industry as well as the health industry. They can speak boldly and positively in regards to the Richissime, and that will ease the burden of maintaining high ratings, thus freeing up time to handle the normal woes of the hotel industry. In short, I can get you about a year—maybe even two—of positive advertising. All of these things…and all I'm asking for is to have eight rooms during the championship."

After hearing everything over, Mr. Shinobu weighed it all out and nodded. "Very impressive, Holden. You've always been generous in your emails, but maybe you're offering too much. I feel inclined to trust you, though perhaps what you're offering will take you months to complete. You're really willing to take on so much work merely to earn several hotel rooms for just a couple nights?" It was hard to blame Mr. Shinobu for harboring some degree of skepticism.

Though Holden knew _he_ was honest about his offer, he was aware that Mr. Shinobu couldn't be as sure, and it made sense that he was hesitant. "You're right, Mr. Shinobu. It will take me months of work to incorporate those terms in my life. But with my work, I often come into contact with a large variety of businesses and enterprises. In reality, I would be happy to share positive words for the Richissime regardless of this deal. I merely hoped to request something in return on behalf of my students, since I care for them as much as you care for your hotel. We both will always be willing to work hard to support them."

Hoping that his pitch was sufficient enough, Holden stretched out his hand to Mr. Shinobu. The hotel manager thought things over for several moments, but then he concluded with a pleased grin. "It seems the stories I've heard of you are true, Mr. Hoffman. You have so much figured out." He took Holden's hand and shook it, thus agreeing to the deal.

Minutes later, Holden and Serena were exiting the hotel and she was about to leap with excitement. "How did you do that? You were amazing! You can really do all those things? How do you know so many people?"

Though he didn't want to boast over it, Holden did feel an explanation was warranted. "For years, my academy has made only small amounts of capital, since we've never been permitted to compete in league tournaments. Therefore, I've found the funds for the school through other companies, and I've dealt with them by constructing deals. As long as I keep the chain linked together, I'll always have arrangements with other companies to keep things moving along. It's effective…but time consuming. I don't take days off."

Serena now looked shocked. "You _never_ take a day off? What if you're tired?" Though she knew Holden was a good worker, she didn't realize how much he had to work to keep things running.

Holden didn't fault her for it, though. "I catch up on sleep when I ride trains sometimes…or even planes. Whatever is necessary, I've always just gotten by." As he shared it, Holden felt a bit silly. It was weird talking about his work habits for a change, since he didn't normally speak with people about things like that. After all, he was mostly in professional environments on work days…which was always.

Though she was a good-hearted woman, Serena did not seem to comprehend just how much work Holden really put into his daily life. Still, she was eager to provide praise to support his dedication, rather than give him a hard time about it. "Sounds like you're a very hard worker, Holden. And you handled thing so well in that meeting. So, where to next? I can take you wherever you need."

Having someone so helpful here in Kalos was a blessing, and Holden wouldn't soon forget it. "There are six different Lumiose office buildings along the outer rim of the city. I need to visit all of them, so that I can negotiate payments for services they're providing us in the Kanto region. Don't worry though, I'll only go to two of them today and leave the rest for tomorrow."

It sounded like a lot of work, but Serena had no trace of reluctance in helping out. "Sounds good. We can head back south and visit the two between here and Professor Sycamore's lab. That will be the most effective route." After hearing her words, Holden had to admit he was impressed. He removed his hat to briefly scratch his forehead and then returned it to his head. Serena gave him an amusing look and reached over to straighten his hat over his head. "Looks better when it's straight. It's like…you're a man on a mission."

_A man on a mission_. Holden considered her words and found them to be accurate, or at least, motivating. With that in mind, he looked ahead out the window as Serena drove on to the next stop.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5.

When the sun rose, Holden woke up feeling very groggy. Though he traveled a lot, somehow the time zone change seemed to have hit him harder on this trip. Maybe it was the additional stress of being away from home, and from his friends and allies. Whatever the reason, Holden forced himself up and on his feet to try and discard the negative energy. He climbed down onto the floor and completed twenty pushups to get his blood flowing. Once he was done, he returned to his feet and went to the bathroom to begin freshening up for the day.

Professor Sycamore was letting Holden stay in his lab during his visit to Lumiose, so that he wouldn't have to spend the extra money for a hotel room. In return, he was delivering some supplies for the professor throughout Lumiose so that his friend could lighten his workload for the day. As always, Holden was making deals, even with his friends, since he strongly believed every favor should be returned.

Once he had showered and changed, Holden entered the lab and looked for the professor. As expected, Sycamore was already gone, which didn't surprise him, since the professor had a full plate for the day. Fortunately, he'd already left the supplies in the lobby with a note on them for Holden to find. That gave him all the instructions he needed to handle the tasks.

Holden was about to give Serena a call, but his phone rang before he could dial it. He grinned in amusement when he realized she was already calling him first. He didn't keep her waiting long and he answered. "Good morning," he greeted.

"Hi, Holden! Hope I didn't wake you up." Serena's voice on the other end was soft as she was considerate of it still being early in the day.

Despite Serena's concerns, Holden had woken up nearly an hour ago. "No, I was already up. I was actually about to call you to see if you're free again today, and maybe I could get a ride."

"Yeah, I am. I can head over right now."

"Great. I'll be ready." Holden hung up and walked over to the kitchen located just outside the lab. He saw some dirty dishes and decided to wash them, along with cleaning the counters and cabinets. There was no point sitting around wasting time waiting for Serena, and he decided to use it productively to help out the professor a bit more. After a long day working, Sycamore would probably find some relief seeing the place tidy upon his return.

About fifteen minutes passed, and then Holden heard the engine to Serena's car as she arrived at the lab's garage. Not wanting to keep her waiting, Holden gathered a couple of boxes and headed out to the car. She saw him once he entered the garage and walked over to offer assistance. "Do you need some help?"

Though he could handle the weight, Holden turned and glanced ahead where he was going, trying to study his path. "I can carry the boxes, but could you pop the trunk open?"

In response, Serena pressed the button on her key, and the trunk opened up. "Got it. It's small, though, hopefully everything will fit."

Though she was concerned, Holden already knew the answer to that. "Not all of it will, but I'll hold the other boxes on my lap." He placed what he was currently carrying in the trunk and then maneuvered things around so that he could close it. Next, he headed back to the lobby to retrieve the final two boxes, which, at least, were smaller. Once everything was at the car, Holden took a seat inside and Serena helped by handing him the boxes to keep on his lap. Finally, Serena returned to the driver's seat and started the engine. Everything was set, and it was time to get to work.

After being on the road for a minute, Serena couldn't help but notice Holden's current state. "You look really out of it," Serena mentioned. Holden remembered how positive and enthusiastic she had been as well yesterday, and he noticed she was fairly groggy herself considering how early it was. Despite that, she smiled and returned her focus to the road ahead. "Where to first?"

Holden took a moment to recall the schedule before replying. "I need to deliver supplies for Professor Sycamore to a few locations. I also need to hit the other four office buildings today for my meetings. So we'll stop at the first office building just ahead for a quick meeting, and then turn right on Estival Avenue and hit the Loto-ID Center to deliver some of the professor's items. Fortunately, it's these two packages on my lap."

After hearing the plan, Serena had some thoughts to contribute. "Why don't we go to the Loto-ID Center first then? That way, we can free you from all that weight quickly?" He looked at her with admiration, as once again Serena demonstrated tremendous compassion. Even at her inconvenience driving, she was willing to do whatever she could to help him out. He had never expected to be so lucky in finding such a good friend here in the Kalos region. He never would have predicted such a thing. "Okay, let's do it. As for my meetings, don't worry they'll all be very quick. Even so, I'll be in your debt for all your help."

Serena appeared to harbor no concerns over debt or payment. "Don't worry about it, Holden. Just take care of your work and I'll drive you wherever you need."

The day was filled with stop-and-go, but thanks to Serena's aid, Holden knocked out all his chores very quickly. In just a couple hours, everything was done and the two of them laughed in relief once they were finally able to relish in the victory. On top of it all, Holden had bought coffee for both of them, so now they were enjoying it while leaning back in the car seats, looking up through the open sunroof at the clear sky above. It was a good day.

At one point, Serena looked over at Holden, watching him as he stared up into the blue sky. He seemed to notice her spying, and so he shifted his gaze to her, only to see her smile humorously. "What's so funny?" he asked.

She giggled and tried to contain herself. "I was just thinking about how you mentioned you work every day, and I wanted to tell you that if you smile often, it will help you."

Holden looked skeptical, though he unconsciously smiled as well from her remark. "Really?"

"When you smile, your body releases endorphins, and it helps to relieve stress," Serena said informatively. "So, think about that whenever you're feeling stressed out. It helps to smile."

Though it sounded silly, Holden felt it was true all the same. After taking a moment to think it over, he kept his gaze in Serena's direction, rather than returning to the view of the sky above. "Where'd you hear that from?"

"I don't know," Serena replied with a giggle. Though she almost seemed to be joking, there was a trace of belief behind her words too, and Serena embraced this way of life. By now, it was easy for Holden to see why she was impressionable as a pokémon performer. Now while parked outside the Prism Tower, Serena leaned over and offered a suggestion. "Hey, I have a thought. Would you like to meet my friends today?"

Holden glanced over curiously. This was only his second day here, so he hadn't taken much time to consider that she had friends of her own around here, though obviously it didn't surprise him. "Yes, we can do that. After all, I finished work early thanks to your help."

Having Holden willing to meet her friends brought additional excitement to Serena. "So cool. I'm very excited! Plus Ash is a very talented pokémon trainer, so I bet the two of you will hit things off right away."

_Ash_. That was no coincidence. Holden pondered for a few seconds and then spoke up. "You mean…Ash Ketchum?"

The realization that Holden knew who Ash was already surprised Serena. "You know him already?"

"Know _of_ him, yes. Ash Ketchum, the famous pokémon trainer. You're _friends _with Ash Ketchum? That's pretty amazing."

Serena blushed a bit as she began to grasp just how high Holden held Ash in reverence. It was flattering to know her best friend was well-respected by anyone, let alone Holden the former world-ranked trainer. "Wow, I didn't realize you knew who he was already. I should have figured, though, since you're both from the Kanto region. I've never been there, so it slipped my mind, I guess. Well, now I'm looking forward to introducing you two even more!"

It took some time to drive north to Laverre City, but once they arrived, Serena parked the car on a small grassy field off to the side of the road. Other vehicles were parked there already, indicating there was some recreational activity nearby. Holden got out and waited for Serena to lead the way. She was practically jumping with excitement as she got out of the car and headed toward the field to the east. However, she slowed down, remembering her manners, and offered a friendly hand to escort Holden. He returned her gesture with a smile and took her hand as they walked.

After a few minutes, the sound of explosions caught Holden's attention. It was easy for him to determine they were pokémon attacks up ahead. As he heard the sound effects, he couldn't help but try to guess what special abilities they were. The most defining one was the sound of sizzling electricity, and Holden knew without a doubt the source of that one.

Finally, they spotted a few figures in the field ahead, and Serena waved her hand in the air. "Ash! We made it! Come meet my new friend!"

The figure of Ash Ketchum turned and looked to see Serena, and then he waved to pass the info down to the others. The sizzling electricity came to a stop and its source came scuttling over: Ash's Pikachu. Holden saw and recognized the iconic mouse pokémon, somewhat in awe as he reveled in the fact that this was the most powerful Pikachu in the entire world.

Now that he'd been traveling the Kalos region for months, Ash had dressed the part. He had a blue Lumiose shirt that had a couple of white stripes down the shoulders, and a red hat with a white visor. His auburn eyes remained as fiery as all the times Holden had seen him on the television. It was strange how they'd never met, but then again, Holden retired just when Ash was beginning to enter elite competitions.

In addition to Ash, two other people were with him. Holden recognized the first one right away as Clemont, the gym leader for Lumiose. He had curly blonde hair with one small ponytail tied in the back, and wore a blue jump suit, as well as a black and white backpack. The second was a very young girl with locks of blonde hair and a brown and white skirt. Holden didn't know who she was.

Serena and Ash reconvened first, greeting each other with a warm hug. After that, Clemont and the little girl went over to hug Serena as well. After a few moments to greet each other, Serena led her friends over toward Holden. "Everyone, I want you to meet my new friend, Holden." She turned and urged Holden to walk closer. "Holden, this is Ash Ketchum, my best friend."

Ash was five years younger than Holden, but he still possessed the allure of an elite pokémon trainer. "Nice to meet you. Serena told me about you. She said you used to be a very powerful pokémon trainer?"

Despite the truth of it, Holden shied away from the praise. After all, he hadn't competed in years. "I used to be a competitor, but I retired five years ago. These days, I spend my time running a pokémon school back in Saffron city called Apex Academy, for aspiring pokémon trainers." While relations were running smooth so far, inside, Holden hoped Ash would be as welcoming with his friendship as Serena was, or at least close to it. The thought of possibly ruining his new found relationship with Serena was unpleasant.

In spite of Holden's concerns, Ash didn't harbor any ill will. "That's awesome! Being a pokémon trainer is the most incredible experience! I've been battling pokémon since I was ten years old and I still love doing it. It's my dream to become a pokémon master." Ash's passion was unmistakable, and Holden quickly saw how easy it was to be won over by it. Ash Ketchum was the living embodiment of the aspiring and driven pokémon trainer. It was why he was so highly revered in the community. They called him the hero of Pallet Town back in the Kanto region, and Holden was quickly beginning to see why.

Clemont took the opportunity to step forward now. "I'm Clemont, and this is my sister…."

He motioned toward his sister, but she ran right past him and quickly took Holden's hand to shake it. "Hi! I'm Bonnie!" she said with a squeaky yet adorable voice. Though she was younger than the others, she wasn't hesitant at all to introduce herself.

Holden shook Bonnie's hand, while offering a friendly smile in return. "Pleasure to meet you," he replied. Then, he looked around at the entire circle of new acquaintances. "_All_ of you. I've been staying in Lumiose with Professor Sycamore for the past two days, yet I never got the chance to go check out your gym, Clemont."

Being reminded of his gym duty caused Clemont to blush slightly from embarrassment. "Yeah, that's okay. I'm not there very often anyway. I built a robot to watch over things to keep people from bothering me too much. But once in a while, I go back to offer gym battles for badges. It's just that…I'm aspiring to be an inventor, so running the gym for my father was taking up too much time."

It was not Holden's place to judge Clemont's decisions, but he did want to share some of his thoughts at least. "Sounds like you were a little overworked back there. So long as the gym is in good hands, I think it's fair to say you made the right choice." For some reason, hearing Holden support his choice seemed to provide some sense of ease for Clemont. It was refreshing for Holden, too, since now he was getting along with more people here in Kalos than he'd previously suspected he would.

Eventually, the inevitable occurred. Ash raised a fist and had a fired up look on his face. "Hey Holden…what do you say we have a pokémon battle?" The others laughed as they all glanced over to see his reaction. In fact, everyone present secretly hoped inside for this to take place between the two pokémon trainers.

Now that the challenge was in the air, Holden's face showed evidence of competitiveness, and he flexed his shoulders. "Can't say no to that." His answer brought a new spark in the air. Though Holden didn't notice, Serena was teeming with eagerness. It was as if she'd been waiting for this moment ever since meeting him. Two of her friends were famous pokémon trainers, so it was only appropriate that they make their friendship official with a pokémon battle.

Ash's Pikachu leapt with joy at the prospect of an opportunity to battle again. The pokémon was very loyal and enthusiastic toward his trainer, which Holden noticed and appreciated right away. It made sense considering how well Ash communicated with him, as well as how he let his Pikachu wander freely regularly, instead of keeping him sealed in a pokéball. While Ash got set up, Holden made his way to the other side of the field. Once he was there, he removed the right side of his jacket to reveal the six pokéballs linked to his belt. In fact, Holden didn't even need to look down at them, for he'd memorized the location of each one.

"Three pokémon each?" Ash suggested, which was the battle standard. There were no objections from Holden, and thus the battle was ready to go underway. Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie sat down on the grass in the middle of the field to bear witness to the event, each one of them eager to see how it played out. "All right then, since I issued the challenge, I'll send out my pokémon first. I choose…Hawlucha!"

In a bright flash from the thrown pokéball, Hawlucha burst out and let loose a battle cry. He was primed and ready to fight his best for Ash. Meanwhile, Holden had already made his decision long before seeing whatever Ash sent out. Unlike Ash, Holden didn't say anything, but he did toss his pokéball to the field, and from the bright flash…it was Lapras. The large water and ice pokémon stretched her long neck and then set her sights on the opposing Hawlucha.

The types were essentially equally threatening both ways, being that Hawlucha was flying and fighting. Ash wasn't deterred by any of it either way, and he was eager to be the first to attack. "Okay Hawlucha, let's lead out with flying press!" The sturdy bird pokémon was obedient as he quickly responded to the command. He ascended high above the field and came launching down toward Lapras. In just a few moments, he would land a super effective attack to his adversary.

Somehow, Ash eventually shifted his gaze to Holden, where he made a startling discovery. Holden was watching the battle, but his mouth wasn't moving. He wasn't even giving any commands. _What was he up to_? And then, Ash discovered what was happening. Lapras lifted her head up to gaze at the oncoming Hawlucha and let loose a blast of ice beam. It was a quick and direct hit, and Hawlucha collapsed to the field in a daze.

Lapras had knocked out Hawlucha with _one hit_.

"How…?" Ash was stunned, as were the onlookers nearby. Holden's Lapras had defeated Hawlucha without even receiving a command. Even now, Holden wasn't speaking at all: he was dead silent and focused. Nonetheless, Ash returned Hawlucha to his pokéball. "Not bad. Looks like you got a critical hit. My next pokémon will have a clean type advantage, though. Pikachu! I choose you!" Sure enough, Ash's iconic partner leapt onto the field and faced off against Lapras next. Just as Ash had described, being an electric type gave Pikachu a great advantage over a water type. It was time to regain the lead in the battle. "Pikachu, hit her with thunderbolt!"

Just as commanded, Pikachu unleashed a ferocious blast of electricity. Lapras was hit hard and let out a moan of pain in response. This time around, she hadn't avoided injury, and she felt the intense effect of shock. Even so, Lapras turned her head to face Pikachu head on, and opened her mouth to power up another ice beam. Even while being electrocuted, the ice beam shot across the field and hit Pikachu with a bullseye. Pikachu yelped in surprise and collapsed to the ground.

Just like Hawlucha, Pikachu had been defeated with one hit.

Everyone gasped in surprise, even louder than before. At least, Hawlucha had a clear weakness to ice type attacks, but Pikachu should have been strong enough to endure a few hits. This Lapras was stronger than any of them had expected, especially Ash. The realization of Holden's power was striking. In addition to Lapras' power, she hadn't even received any commands from Holden. He was still silently observing the battle, and his mouth hadn't moved in the slightest the entire time. Ash knew at once this was a completely different type of pokémon trainer. This was beyond anyone—_or anything_—he'd ever encountered before. With only one pokémon left to send out, Ash chose Greninja, one of his most powerful pokémon, though it was also a water type like Lapras. Ash lived up to his reputation of never giving up, but the result was more of the same. As Greninja came in to attempt an attack, Lapras used thunderbolt, catching the water Pokémon completely by surprise with a super effective technique. That was enough to score the third knockout.

Just like that, the pokémon battle was over.

"Wow, I don't believe it…" Ash expressed, still stunned. Now that the fighting was over, Holden returned Lapras to her pokéball and walked over to Ash. Once he reached him, he offered a handshake quietly, yet respectfully. Though he was dumbstruck, Ash returned it in good sportsmanship.

"It was a good battle," said Holden.

"A good battle? You beat all my pokémon in a single hit _each_. I've never had my team beaten so easily. And you…you never even gave them _commands_. How did you do that?"

Though it was undeniably impressive, Holden merely shrugged his shoulders. "I don't need to give them commands. We go over battle tactics in training before the battle. That way, my opponent won't know what my Pokémon will be attacking with during battles." This was a level of training beyond what Ash had ever known. He'd faced hundreds of trainers over the ten years he'd competed in pokémon battles, and none of them possessed this training method.

Serena and the others came running over to give props. "Wow, I can't believe how powerful your Lapras is!" she expressed loudly. Serena nearly threw her arms around Holden, but she managed to refrain herself. She was fully aware that it had been a one-sided battle and didn't want to rub the result in Ash's face. Fortunately, he was smiling seconds later as he came to accept just how qualified Holden really was.

Clemont adjusted his glasses as he glanced down at Holden's belt, which contained his pokémon roster. "I've never seen a Lapras that could withstand electric attacks in order to land an attack of her own. She must have tremendous durability."

Even now, Holden felt it all coming back to him. "Lapras is a tank. She can endure a lot of hits, or even a savage hit from a super effective blow, in order to land an attack at a crucial moment. To be honest, had the battle continued, she would have been unable to take another hit." Even with that said, it was irrelevant, because Lapras had defeated all three adversaries without being knocked out herself. In fact, she barely even appeared fazed by Pikachu's thunderbolt. "I've also trained them to conceal injuries very well, so the opponent cannot tell if they are close to going down. That way, they won't be able to calculate their attacks to adjust to that knowledge."

Despite how technical these tactics sounded, they still required a great amount of hardship to perfect, and the others realized this right away. Holden smiled and looked away, eager to lose the spotlight. He wasn't a competitor anymore, and the spotlight had only gotten him into trouble over the years.

He still strongly believed it was best to avoid returning to that lifestyle.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6.

Some time had passed since Holden and Ash's battle, and now the circle of friends were seated at a picnic table enjoying some sandwiches. Bonnie had brought some fresh fish that Clemont had caught earlier in the morning. Or rather, one of Clemont's inventions captured the fish, and somehow exploded from overloading soon after. Fortunately, the fire from the debris was useful to cook the fish so it was ready to be eaten soon after.

As Holden sat around with his new friends, he couldn't help but appreciate how they all seemed to find ways to contribute to each other. While Ash seemed to be the ringleader of sorts, every member of the group had a passion, as well as a voice. The bond they had with each other was like that of a pokémon team, and Holden found it remarkable to bear witness to.

With everyone settled down, Ash had some questions for Holden that he'd probably kept inside ever since the end of their battle. "You gotta tell me how you got so strong. And why did you retire from battling? You're one of the most powerful trainers I ever fought against!"

It was only a matter of time before Holden would have to answer questions like these, so he sucked it up. He met Serena's eyes for a brief moment, noticing that she was quietly curious to know of his past exploits as well. With that in mind, it was time to share his story. "I became a pokémon trainer when I turned twelve. My first ever pokémon was a Bulbasaur from Professor Oak. I ventured out and acquired the rest of my team: Lapras, Kangaskhan, Alakazam, Snorlax, and Scizor. Bulbasaur eventually fully evolved into Venusaur as well."

"Once I got every gym badge in the Kanto region, I began to think I was unbeatable. After all, I hadn't lost a battle for two years straight. The success began to go to my head. Then when I turned sixteen, I applied for gym leadership at Saffron City. Sabrina was the head of the Saffron City Gym, and, needless to say, she wasn't too happy when I made a move for her gym. Things went all the way up to the Pokémon League Council, and they took Sabrina's side. Because of my actions, the Pokémon League saw me as an enemy."

With the introduction of controversy into the story, the others were suddenly intrigued by the new angle "That should have been a wakeup call for me, but I was young and driven. Instead, I moved to the Johto region and got all the badges there as well. However, instead of trying to become a gym leader, or even becoming a regional champion, I became interested in competing at the National Pokémon Championship Series. Eventually, Jasmine, the Olivine City Gym leader, sponsored me so I could compete. I did very well in the tournament, but I still ended up losing…to Diantha." He had to pause after mentioning that name, on account of his history with her, and it did not go unnoticed by his audience. Nevertheless, he continued to speak. "No matter how strong my team got, I could never defeat her in a battle. Diantha's Gardevoir was an unstoppable force." Everyone in the group knew who Diantha was, and had even met her previously, but it was very telling to hear Holden give so much praise to her Gardevoir.

Holden sighed and began to wrap things up. "Anyway, I began trying to figure out how to defeat her, so I experimented with new and innovative training tactics with my pokémon team. In addition, I became very vocal about my views and opinions on pokémon training. At the core of my beliefs, I claimed the pokémon were the ones doing all the hard work, and we, the trainers, weren't the ones out there in the battle. If anything, the praise should go to the _pokémon_ and not the trainers."

With that out of the way, Holden gritted his teeth. "That last part got me into all kinds of disputes with other trainers…especially Diantha. She began to loath me over the years. If I had to guess, she still hates my guts."

"But why, though?" Serena inquired, struggling to see any reason to hate Holden. Once again, her kindness tended to go hand in hand with some naiveté. "You were just praising the pokémon who fought for you."

Unfortunately, it was not so simple, and even Holden was aware of just how far he'd taken his claims back then. "They saw it differently," explained Holden. "They believed I was discrediting the trainers who worked hard and deserved to reap the benefits of success. The thing is…they weren't wrong. That was precisely what I was claiming, and in my eyes, they didn't like hearing it. That was my personal belief, and it never sat well with them."

Now that everything was out in the open for them all to hear, Holden paused and awaited his fate. If anything, Ash was the one to be most offended by his opinions. After all, there was no doubt he was one of the hardest-working trainers ever. Ash was perhaps the best example to counter Holden's argument, if anyone ever could. Yet, he wasn't showing any expressions of disdain. "Holden, I think I get what you're saying. And if that's how you feel, then you're entitled to your opinion. What I know, as a pokémon trainer, is that I _do_ work hard and put myself through the same workouts as my pokémon as much as possible. After all, we're all in it together when we compete. So I think, maybe you should reconsider your opinions at some point."

Even now, Holden had to resist giving his smug look from when he was sixteen. His beliefs were well-founded, at least in his eyes, but his arrogance in proving them had aroused a ton of trouble over the years. His opinions were no longer causing trouble now…because he had retired. It was the reason he'd stepped away from the game in the first place. "The only problem now, is that Apex Academy students are banned from entering Pokémon League tournaments…including the National Championship. The only way for students to compete and to potentially achieve their dreams is to cut any ties with my school. And believe me, many of them do it, and I don't blame them."

It was distressing for the group to learn this, especially Serena. "That's awful, though," she chimed in. "They're just young students. They don't deserve to be banned from competition just because the Pokémon League Council doesn't agree with your personal opinions."

Though it definitely appeared harsh, it was still the way things were. Even so, Holden continued to maintain that he deserved blame as well. "I pissed them off too much, Serena. I angered them and offended them. They unanimously passed that ban to punish me after I retired. They wanted me to pay for my words against them. Instead, it's been my future students who are paying the price. That's why I'm always working…I'm trying to undo all of it. That's my goal now. I have to keep the school alive, and fix all the bad ties to get my students a fair path. They _deserve_ it, and it's my dream now to see them do well."

When all was said and done, everyone seemed to reach a relatively stable understanding. After a brief silence, it was Bonnie who helped propel things along. "We have a cooler with some mochi in it. We should all have some!" Smiles formed on every group member's face and the heavy conversation from prior was quickly put in the past. It was certainly refreshing that the group was able to return to a degree of tranquility even after an intense conversation.

After some time passed, Ash ended up sitting next to Holden at one point. The two of them looked over at Serena, who was playing around with Bonnie on the grassy field, while Clemont was nearby working on one of his inventions. There was a feeling of happiness among them, and Holden felt as though he'd been invited to join in on it. Ash sensed that Holden was feeling the good vibes, but he couldn't help but make a suggestion to his new friend. "I know you said you retired, Holden, but maybe you should consider competing in the National Pokémon Championship Series. I think you could probably win it."

"Come on, Ash," said Holden, resisting the suggestion. "I think I'm lucky enough to have found a few friends here in Kalos. It's probably best to just quit while I'm ahead. Things have been surprisingly pleasant out here, and I don't want to ruin that by facing all those people once again." Even after saying that, Holden already found the offer to be very tempting.

Despite Holden's concern, Ash had determination on his face. He was all too familiar with how competitive a pokémon trainer could be, and he was able to sense it inside Holden, even though he only just met him. In his eyes, it would be an injustice not to encourage him to compete. "You know what I think, Holden? I think that if you want to help your students out, you should compete in the tournament, and show them that you're willing to face opposition in order to stand up for what you believe in. If the Pokémon League won't let you compete, then you can accuse them of being afraid, and they won't like that. I bet that you'll make some serious waves if you go back. So, what do you say?"

The words were irresistible. Holden took one last look at Serena, and locked eyes with her, practically studying her reaction. Her eyes were suddenly very spiritual, as if she recognized the hunger that still existed inside of Holden; the hunger for competition. Serena gave only the slightest motion resembling a nod, but it was enough to send him over. With his decision made, he returned his gaze to Ash. "I'll do it…but on one condition. Ash looked on with intrigue, and Holden spoke up. "_You_ gotta compete as well."

Ash responded with a hearty laugh. "You've got a deal."


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7.

It wasn't until the next day that Holden, Ash, and Serena paid a visit to Victory Road. Normally, only a pokémon trainer who'd collected all eight gym badges in the Kalos region would take this road in order to challenge the Elite Four to earn the opportunity to become a pokémon regional champion. Today, however, Holden and Ash would meet with the Pokémon League and try to sign up for the National Championship. Though most of the participants registered for the contest online or through mail, the deadline to register had already passed, and also there were doubts that Holden would even be allowed to return from retirement.

Approaching the Pokémon League directly was the most likely way of getting into the competition.

"You nervous?" asked Serena. Holden tried to look away, though his attempts at hiding his nerves weren't working. Even so, Serena was trying to stay positive, and she gently held Holden's hand as she escorted him. "It'll be fine," she added reassuringly. In truth, Holden wasn't afraid of facing those who had conflicts with him, but he'd spent years trying to bury it in the past for the good of his academy.

Confronting these people now could undo all of it, and he would have to deal with that if it did.

Ash was eyeing the surroundings with intrigue. "Look up ahead. There's the Pokémon League for Kalos. It's a castle!" Sure enough, a giant castle built of large stones stood ahead of them now, and they were dwarfed by it. This was where the Elite Four tested aspiring pokémon trainers who had won all eight badges for the region. In addition, last year's National Champion resided in the castle as well, though Holden was hoping that she wasn't in today. After all, it was none other than Diantha.

Once the three travelers reached the front gate, a couple of guards met with them. After a brief introduction, one of the guards left to go inform the Elite Four of Ash and Holden's intention to compete in the National Pokémon Championship Series. It would be easy for Ash to get entered into it, but Holden was another story. There was a still a strong chance he'd be denied entry due to his history with the league.

After several minutes, a few figures made their way out from the castle, and Serena quickly noticed Holden tense up. Once she saw that, she gazed ahead and quickly saw the reason why: One of the new arrivals was Diantha. She was wearing a jumpsuit, with a flashy coat over it, all in white, as usual. Her outfit had gold rings around her wrists and stomach, and she had a pink purse. Her hair was brown and her eyes were blue, and they had the unmistakable glare in Holden's direction.

All of Holden's new friends noticed Diantha's glare as well.

Soon enough, Diantha and her subordinates walked over to the three new arrivals and she placed her right hand on her hip as she leaned to her side. "Ash, Serena, it's good to see you again." That was the end of her kindness because next she turned to face Holden directly. "But _you_…what are you doing here? I told you years ago I didn't ever want to see you in this place again." This was a side of Diantha Ash and Serena had never seen before. The famed actress and pokémon trainer had always been very friendly to them, but she had nothing but contempt for Holden. There were no doubts from the others now that Holden really had pissed her off before. After several seconds passed, and Holden didn't respond, Diantha took a couple more steps toward him. "Well?" she pushed for a response.

Despite Diantha's intensity, Holden was incredibly calm. He stood his ground and maintained his composure even in the face of adversity. Though he'd hesitated to journey to this place, he now stood tall and took a couple steps of his own toward Diantha, so that he was close enough to hand her some papers. She kept her eyes locked on his, but eventually took the papers in her hands and handed them to one of her subordinates. "What's that?" she asked, unwilling to review the documents for herself.

"My registration," Holden replied calmly.

"For what?" she said, remaining cold-blooded.

"The National Pokémon Championship Series." At this announcement, Diantha looked like she was going to explode. Her face grew red from the fumes of this declaration. It was as if she had been insulted religiously, and in a way, she had been. For this man to come to her region and claim he was competing in the national tournament, _her_ tournament, was a great insult.

Needless to say, Diantha would be vocal about her thoughts on it. "You are _banned_ from Pokémon League tournaments, so you can forget about it. I'd never grant you permission to return to the league after all you've said and done." Her denial seemed well-founded, since she was a member of the Pokémon League Council, which oversaw the league tournaments throughout the regions. On top of winning the National Championship multiple times, she'd been the Kalos Regional Champion for over ten years, and it was doubtful she'd be dethroned anytime soon.

_Patience_. Though things were heated, Holden kept repeating the word to himself. Patience was what he needed now. That…along with something else. He motioned to the registration form he had just handed to Diantha's subordinate. "You're wrong. It was after I retired when you placed a ban on students from Apex Academy, but the ban doesn't include me in it. I already spoke with Professor Oak, and he confirmed it…in writing."

The anger in Diantha's face was causing her skin to change colors. Professor Oak? She didn't realize Holden was friends with him. In reality, Holden had acquired this in return for all of his help with Professor Sycamore, who in return contacted Oak to get the permission. Professor Oak of the Kanto Region was a member of the Pokémon League Council as well, so there was one voice of support for Holden. It was enough to get him a shot in the tournament, and Diantha could not deny his entry now. "You didn't get enough satisfaction poisoning our community back when you competed. Even spreading your disease to your students at your school wasn't enough. Now, you've decided to return to infect the community once again? You're like a plague."

Holden stared into her eyes unflinching, though inside his heart was beating rapidly. Finally, Diantha spun and returned back toward the castle, stomping angrily as she made her exit. The other workers followed suit with her, though one of them first acquired Ash's registration forms before heading inside. Moments later, everything was silent once again.

With that all done, Holden was eager to leave. "Time to go."

Ash patted Holden's shoulder in consolation. "Wow, that was intense. She really hates you. I never knew she could be so hateful like that. Diantha is the most successful National Champion to ever live. How could she have such a dark side?"

All Holden could really do was chuckle. "She's not the greatest champion ever," he explained, though he didn't reveal his thoughts on who held that title, though he had an idea. "Anyway, she can't block my registration now that Professor Oak has approved it, since it's a violation of the Pokémon League Council code. I knew I'd need it or else Diantha would never have let me compete."

With everything taken care of now, the three friends headed back down south. As they walked, Serena moved close to Holden and leaned in against his left shoulder. Holden placed his arm around her in comfort, and also to help her reduce her stress from what just occurred. Serena was a sweet human being, and she wasn't comfortable being around hatred. It had been a difficult thing to bear witness to, but she was proud of Holden for sticking up to Diantha.

After today, Serena would never look at Diantha the same way again.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8.

"Braixen!" said Braixen. The tall fox pokémon stood on two legs and scanned Holden with protective eyes. He remained very still, watching as Braixen inspected him, almost as if he were a meal. Serena laughed loudly and eventually held up her left hand, causing Braixen to back away and stand next to her.

"This is my first pokémon companion, Braixen," she said. The pokémon posed in response to her introduction, and Holden let loose a small grin. "Don't worry, she's just being protective. In reality, she's a total sweetheart."

That made plenty of sense to Holden. "I think I know where she got it from," he mentioned. With that said he came forward and held his right hand toward Braixen. The fox pokémon bared her teeth and was on edge for a moment, but in a few seconds, she calmed down, especially since Holden was very still. Finally, Braixen leaned her head forward, permitting Holden to pet her. He responded with a gentle petting motion, and Braixen was suddenly relaxed again.

The entire time, Serena was watching with awe. "You're so calm around pokémon. It's like you never get nervous. How do you do it?"

Despite the compliment, Holden didn't fully agree. "I get nervous sometimes," he insisted.

Serena eyes suggested that she doubted that. "No, you don't…_ever_."

To that, Holden didn't know what to say, but he turned his attention to something else on his mind. "You know, I haven't really gotten the chance to tell you this yet, Serena, but…thank you. For everything. I owe you a tremendous debt."

The kind gesture caught her off guard, and she was very quiet. Of course, she appreciated it, but there was something extra moving about the way Holden delivered it. Serena began to smile, and then her hair fell in front of her face, causing her to giggle and return it to the side so it wasn't blocking her face. "You're a great person, Holden. I enjoyed every minute of our time together."

Things were getting intimate, and Holden decided not to go any further, though he felt he wanted to. Instead, he looked away in the direction that Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie were sitting at the picnic table again. "I suppose I should train for the tournament. My team hasn't competed in an official tournament in years." He glanced down at his belt, where the six orbs were containing his team.

Though she wasn't competing, Serena appeared just as excited as Holden was. "I can't wait to meet the rest of your team." She removed her other two orbs and tossed them to the ground, revealing the rest of her pokémon: Pancham and Sylveon. Pancham was a small panda pokémon, while Sylveon was fairy type mammal Pokémon on four legs. "Meet Pancham and Sylveon. They're performers like me, and don't battle very often, but they do know how to fight if they need to."

Holden was impressed at Serena's team, even if they weren't known for battling. "You've got a fine team, and from what you told me, they perform with you on stage?"

"That's right," said Serena. "Pokémon performers put on shows with their pokémon alongside them. So, we're a team, just like you and your battling pokémon."

As Holden considered Serena's statement, he found it to be very fitting. "Well then, I'll introduce you to my team next." With that, Holden released all six orbs together, and they all came out in a straight line. "Venusaur, Lapras, Alakazam, Snorlax, Kangaskhan, and Scizor." All six beasts noticed they were being introduced and bowed respectively to Serena. She smiled and waved in greeting to them. "Go ahead," said Holden, "Go over to them."

Though she was in good spirits, Serena was suddenly intimidated by the six fearsome pokémon standing there, though she still edged closer. The nearest one to her was Scizor, though he was also the most fearsome looking. Even so, she slowly raised her right hand toward him. When Scizor saw the request, he growled low at first. However, when he did, Serena paused momentarily, and that caused Scizor to calm down.

"He won't hurt you," said Holden, with no trace of doubt. Still, Serena found it tough to simply approach the bright red praying mantis pokémon. Finally, she continued to edge closer, and her hand was only a couple feet away from Scizor's face. Once she was really close, she froze and waited to see his reaction. After several seconds, Scizor let out a snort and took several steps to the side, distancing himself from Serena.

She grew confused, until she heard a laugh from Holden behind her. "I forgot to mention: Scizor doesn't like being petted."

Serena spun around and made an angry face. "You could have told me that before I tried to pet him!" Although she was a bit worked up, she wasn't actually upset.

After spending a few moments enjoying the humor behind it, Holden motioned toward Lapras instead. "She's friendlier," he said solemnly, hoping it would make up for his prank. Sure enough, Lapras lowered her head until she was a few feet away from Serena, and gave off a friendly chirp. Serena smiled and comfortably placed her hand on Lapras's head. It was a unique experience in the presence of such a large pokémon. After the introductions were complete, Holden motioned to his team to head farther out onto the field. They responded to his instruction, though Scizor stayed behind and walked with Holden. As they walked, Holden was giving some additional instructions to the red praying mantis pokémon, and eventually Scizor used his wings to speed up and reach the others.

When Ash spotted Holden's team spreading out onto the field, he began to watch, which prompted Clemont and Bonnie to look over too. They even yelled out cheers to encourage the pokémon, which added to the excitement. Without even being told anything, the six pokémon broke off into pairs: Venusaur with Snorlax, Alakazam with Lapras, and Kangaskhan with Scizor. Once they were paired up, they commenced sparring with each other. The field was suddenly filled with explosions and beams of light.

Serena hurried over to Holden, and the two of them moved closer to the field where the pokémon were training. "I don't understand, Holden. How do they know what to do without you even telling them anything? No commands? No instructions?"

Therein lied the soul of Holden's training methods. "My pokémon have received plenty of training. In fact, I trained them for countless hours. Now, they already know what they need to do, aside from one or two instructions. Just now, I told Scizor to put the team into pairs and spar, so he relayed the message to the others. They'll keep on sparring until I tell them to stop, though they know to take breaks on occasion. Don't worry though, they don't go at it 100 percent. They go lighter, but strong enough to push themselves."

It was a very effective method, yet Serena still didn't understand how it was possible. "I've never seen a trainer let his pokémon act so independently. I think…I'm starting to see why you said what you did. You said the pokémon are the ones fighting out there, and deserve more credit than the trainers."

Remembering how he'd explained some of his ideology prior, Holden had to be careful how he explained it to Serena. After all, she was a bright person, but she didn't see life the way a pokémon battler did. "Trainers work hard, of course, but they don't go out and fight the battles. That's the job of the pokémon, and they are the real champions. All I've done is given instructions to my team to provide some organization. Without my team, I wouldn't be a trainer at all. I give them all the credit." He stared away for a few moments as his mind thought of Diantha and the others. "If only more trainers gave the credit to their pokémon, but they always spend so much time in the spotlight enjoying their fame."

Serena tilted her head and gave Holden a suspicious look. "Maybe I misheard you before, but I seem to remember you admitted that you did your fair share of that as well."

Once again, Holden had underestimated Serena's capacity to remember his statements. "You've got a point there." Serena was expecting Holden to try and explain himself, but he did no such thing. Instead, he sat down on the grass and stared out at his pokémon team, observing their training. Serena blinked and then sat down next to him, leaning against his shoulder peacefully. She watched his pokémon train as well, and they both felt appreciation for the wonders pokémon were capable of. Regardless of the ethics and morals surrounding the reasons for pokémon training, it was impossible not to be amazed at what pokémon were capable of.

After a couple of hours, everyone packed up all the gear and prepared to leave. Clemont had one of his inventions to help with transportation: some sort of hovercraft designed to travel over land. Ash and Bonnie nervously boarded it and Clemont prepared to launch. Meanwhile, Serena drove Holden back to the lab with her car. It was significantly safer than Clemont's hovercraft.

After Holden said goodnight to Serena, he went back inside the lab. This time, Professor Sycamore was there, and he looked eager to speak with Holden again. "Seems like you've been up to quite a bit around here lately."

"What do you mean?" asked Holden, resisting his fatigue a bit longer to find out what Sycamore had to share.

The professor pointed at the table nearby, which had some papers on top of it. When Holden went over to review them, he saw a bulletin posted from the Pokémon League. It declared that some sort of fine was being issued…to Holden Hoffman. "A _fine_? For _what_?"

Sycamore sighed as he offered an explanation, though he clearly was opposed to it. "Looks like they're not too happy about you returning to competition. They passed a new rule that applies only to retirees from league competition. You have to pay the fine in order to come back from retirement." Even though he respected the Pokémon League, Sycamore shook his head in distaste at this move. "It's low of them to do that. I find it extremely poor in sport. Still, there's nothing you can do but pay it…that is, if you still want to compete."

To this challenge, Holden was suddenly fired up. "That only makes me want to compete even more. Knowing it will piss them off is just added motivation." That said, he paused and looked around Sycamore's lab. "As for the money…could I work for you a little while longer? I can pay it off if I earn some more while here."

Far be it from Professor Sycamore to turn down assistance in his constantly busy work schedule. "I have plenty of work for you, but it's mostly here at the lab. I need to leave town on a business trip to the Johto region, and I'll have to wrap things up and hurry back in time for the National Pokémon Championship Series. If you clean up the lab for me, I'll pay the fine for you."

Once again, Holden was grateful for a chance. "Thank you, Augustine. I'll take care of everything you need. Just leave me a list of what you need done." After making it official with a handshake, Sycamore left to go make the final arrangements. While he did that, Holden took another look at the paper from the league. He saw Diantha's signature, written in darker pen than the other names, and he could just visualize her driving the pen angrily onto the surface as she wrote it. May as well have signed it with blood, she hated him so much.

For now, Holden tried to avoid spending too much time worrying about Diantha, or any of the other Pokémon League Council members. His pokémon needed to train, and he needed to clean up Sycamore's lab, so there was much to do. At least, there were special chambers in the lab for pokémon to battle, so they could train here in the facility, which would help a lot. This was a small cost for what was to come, and Holden was not going to be deterred.

One way or another, he was determined to make a statement at the National Pokémon Championship Series.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9.

There was one day left before the big tournament, and Holden was spending it trying to return some of Serena's generosity by accompanying her on her business. It was only fair since she'd escorted him on his exploits in Lumiose without a single complaint. Today, she had an important recording session at the PR Video Studio, and all her pokémon were going to be featured as well. In addition to supporting her, Holden would get the chance to finally watch her perform.

This time, Holden actually drove Serena in her car, so she could concentrate on getting mentally prepared. Her pokémon performance recordings had garnered a lot of attention over the years, so now there was more pressure than before, since it was important she maintain her popularity and reputation. As Holden considered her stance, he began to comprehend how something seemingly simple could become so much more challenging once the stakes were higher.

"Holden, could you zip me up, please?" she asked. Even while in the car, Serena was trying to get most of her wardrobe ready before arriving. It was a challenging angle to reach the zipper behind her back, but Holden found it and helped her out once he reached a place to stop the car. "Thank you," she said thoughtfully. Though he felt the urge to make humorous comments, Holden refrained for the time being. If he knew anything about a hectic work situation, it was best to be focused on what needed to be done. Instead, he would make sure he helped her with anything she needed.

It wasn't long before they finally reached the PR Video Studio, and Holden parked the car. He even got a bit nervous himself as he pulled in the spot, since it was a tight fit. The last thing he wanted to do was contribute to Serena's stress by crashing her car. Fortunately, no issues occurred, and he got out and began unloading her bags. "Once you're ready, I can carry your things," he said to her as he was busy with the bags.

No response came, and Holden took a few steps back around the car to locate Serena's face. She had her eyes closed and was taking deep breaths, trying to regain her senses. Though he couldn't resist a slight grin, Holden went over to the door, opened it, and leaned in close to her. "You ready for this?" he said, but in a way that suggested excitement rather than stress.

Serena reopened her eyes and blinked several times, trying to defy her nerves. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Just need a moment." She tried to avoid looking at Holden as she resumed her breathing and waved her hands over her face. Holden nodded quietly as he backed away and went over to gather the bags. After a few moments, Serena climbed out of the car and stretched her legs to try and muster up some additional energy.

Once she turned back to face Holden, he felt it was time. "You'll do just fine," he assured her. He saw her eyes change in an instant. Through a remarkable process, her eyes were afraid and then very suddenly soothed, all in a flash. There was something magical about how she dealt with her challenges, and for just one small moment, Holden was grateful to bear witness to it. With her nerves cast aside, she had a focused look on her face and she nodded.

The two of them entered the PR Video Studio, and right away, a tidy-looking man came rushing over. "Welcome, welcome, Miss Naosaga. My name is Emi, and I'll be running your video session today. Please, come with me and I'll show you to your dressing room. We have staff members ready to assist you in any way to ensure you have a great time in there!" He had a welcoming voice, and Serena was smiling warmly once again, though Holden noticed something peculiar. The way that she was smiling constantly reminded him of when he first met her. It felt as though Serena was always putting on a smiling face to spread positivity around, though she could sometimes feel uneasy on the inside. Now, he was beginning to get to know her much better, and so he started to search for the times she was genuinely happy and the times her smile was labored.

Regardless of how she felt inside, Serena was ready to work. She turned around and motioned to Holden before vanishing. "This is my good friend, Holden Hoffman. He's going to stay and give me moral support."

Emi turned to Holden and gave a slight bow as he cuffed his hands together. "Of course, Mr. Hoffman. You're welcome to stay and watch. We have comfortable seating available, as well as fresh coffee and tea, whichever you prefer."

It was an easy choice for Holden. "Coffee sounds great." Everyone walked over to the studio, and Serena had to get to work, so Holden went over to the refreshments table where the coffee machine was. A pleasant discovery awaited him, for they had Saffron Tranquility blend. Once Holden filled his cup, he blew on it a few times and then placed the lid over it. This was coffee good enough for him to drink black, and he preferred not to add anything else to it.

With coffee in hand, Holden went over to the seats and found one near the front. After sipping on his coffee quietly for several minutes, the door to the stage opened and Serena entered, along with some of the staff. She gave Holden a happy wave in greeting and then got consumed with her performance. Emi went on stage eventually, and he began to explain everything to her for the video shoot. After hearing him go through it, Holden realized there was a large amount of instructions for such a brief video recording.

Things went underway soon after, and things appeared to go very smooth. Not once did Serena appear nervous or uncomfortable on the stage. In fact, her positivity was absolutely contagious, and everyone around her was smiling the entire time. She had magical power, and Holden now observed its effects. The nervous young woman he'd seen earlier in the morning was non-existent now. It was a telling reminder of how different things were behind the curtains for trainers and performers alike, as they represented power and success when they went to work, regardless of their personal lives and feelings which they often kept hidden from the spotlight.

After an hour had passed, Serena, Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon were all done with their roles in the filming. Everyone on stage clapped in unison, indicating a good session, and they began clearing things out. Serena embraced her pokémon and showered them with compliments. After all, they were a team when they performed, just like Holden was a team with his own pokémon during battles. Though Serena and he had two different lives, they both had great dependence on their pokémon teams, and that was at least something refreshing to have in common.

The recording session was complete, Holden had finished his coffee, and everybody was in good spirits. Before things were finished, however, Serena needed to speak with Emi one more time regarding some of the arrangements. She followed him into his office and sat down while he got some papers ready for her. While that went on, Holden stood just outside, leaning against the wall patiently.

Though he was just outside the office, Holden could hear them speaking to each other. "There's one thing I need to bring up, Miss Naosaga," said Emi.

"Yes?" asked Serena.

"When we originally spoke, we'd discussed spending an hour and a half recording, but instead we only went at it for an hour. I hope you understand we'll need to dock your pay thirty percent as a result." Emi's statement was a dagger after such a positive morning of good work. Where did he get off screwing her over like that? Though he was upset, Holden stayed put for the time being. He wanted to see how Serena dealt with it.

After a few moments, she spoke up. "I understand we concluded filming in less time than expected, but we still recorded enough footage to make a complete pokémon video. Besides, we worked very well together, and your crew even called things a wrap, _not me_. So, I believe my price is reasonable." It was elegantly said, and Holden was very impressed. There was much more to Serena than met the eye, for she was adept at standing up for herself.

Even so, Emi remained stubborn. "Miss Naosaga, we've been at this for a long time, and I assure you, my dear, this is the standard video recording studios run off of. We have a business to run, after all, and we must be consistent with our decisions. Please, try to understand."

Despite her defense, even Serena had her limits. She let out a noticeable sigh as she considered Emi's explanation. After several moments, she nodded and took the deal. Emi chattered his teeth briefly as he achieved his little victory. Though she was displeased with the end result, Serena signed the paperwork and things were closed up.

Once she came out of the office, Holden placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Give me a moment."

Her eyes widened in response when she realized what he was going to do. "Holden, no. Just leave it."

Despite her request, Holden calmly moved past her and intercepted Emi in his office before the corrupt studio owner could make his exit. Needless to say, he froze in place when he saw Holden there. "Pardon me, sir, but I believe it is time for you to be leaving," Emi announced, though his voice didn't command authority.

Holden ignored the snooty man's request and blocked the doorway. "If you'd be so kind, I'd like to speak with you for just a moment." His words were soft, but his face and body language commanded compliance backed with intimidation. As soon as he laid eyes on it, Emi backed away and returned to his desk. Only when he was finally sitting down did Holden take a seat across from him. "You say that's the standard? You're going to steal thirty percent of what you owe Serena Naosaga because _that's_ the standard?"

To his surprise, Emi was squirming in fear as he sat. "What is this? Are you threatening me?"

It was an absurd notion, and Holden knew at last just how useless this man really was. How did such a pathetic person acquire this position? Still, he needed to be dealt with accordingly. "I'm not gonna threaten you. In fact, I'm not going to do anything with you. You can keep the thirty percent too. It's all yours."

After how things had started off, Emi was confused with Holden's response. "Wait…so you're not angry with me?"

Even while angry, Holden couldn't resist smiling at Emi's embarrassing behavior. "Have your editing team do their best on the video recording. We look forward to seeing the final product once it's complete." With that said, Holden rose up and made his exit, while Emi sat in place, trying to figure out what just happened.

Serena kept up with Holden as he walked away. "I don't understand…."

"It's okay, just trust me," he assured her. She seemed to grasp his words right away and remained quiet as they both left the studio at last. Holden even carried her bags once again and when they got to the car, he opened the door for her. After a long day, Serena plopped down in the seat and leaned back, staring up out the front window. Things had gone so well, and it didn't feel right the way it all ended. Once the bags were stored in the trunk, Holden got into the driver's seat and started the car.

With privacy finally restored, Serena broke the silence. "I don't understand. Why did you go back in there? What did you do?"

Holden was busy driving, but once he got on the main road, he was able to explain himself. "You still need his studio to finish editing your video. You made the right decision. Better to get paid less than not at all. Besides, you're very popular and the hits you'll rake up will be worth it."

It brought confidence to Serena hearing those words, but she wasn't quite satisfied yet. "Well then, why did you go back inside to talk to him?"

"To give him a chance to change his mind, but he refused. So now, it's quite simple. I merely perplexed him by making him think he'll suffer consequences for his actions. But don't worry, I won't do anything with him…or for him." Holden was very calm as he went over everything, and Serena couldn't help but smile. After having her good day sabotaged by the studio owner's shady antics, it was a great relief to rise above it. "Besides," said Holden, "Now, once you get the completed video, you can blacklist the PR Video Studio. For thirty percent of your pay, they're out of your life."

The words of advice seemed to click with Serena. She nodded and leaned her head out the window as she imagined it. After enjoying the wind blowing through her hair, she turned back to Holden so she could speak. "You know what, you're right. I just won't do any more business with them. I can get by without them." Holden grinned proudly at her self-confidence. She was young, but she was mature, and also very willing to allow herself to grow in all facets of life. These traits would be vital for her going forward.

At a red light, Holden leaned over toward Serena. "He could lose his job…if you want. Just say the word."

Serena stared in disbelief at Holden's suggestion before shaking her head and laughing. "Really? No, no, don't do that. He's not that bad. Anyway, how would you do something like that?"

Holden laughed in response to that. "I couldn't. I just wanted to see your reaction." She glared at him humorously, though his laughter broke her serious face. "Sorry, I was just joking, I swear."

She looked him dead in the eyes. "You _better_ be."


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10.

The day had finally arrived: it was time for the National Pokémon Championship Series to begin.

The setting for the annual tournament was the large field west of Aquacorde Town and Santalune Forest. Spectators had even begun flocking in the day before, choosing to camp out and be first in line to witness the action when the battling began. By the time dawn arrived, there were hundreds of excited fans present.

Dozens of pokémon were appearing out on the fields as trainers were having skirmish battles. There were a total of six different fields for the battles, so that the tournament could finish on time. This was an event too big for a single day, and it would conclude on the second day, with only the top eight competitors remaining by that time. Until then, there would be constant battles raging all day until the final eight were revealed.

Rather than trying to park, Holden and his friends had gotten a ride from Professor Sycamore. Once again, he was too busy working, even during the big tournament, so he had to be off. Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie were going to spectate and provide support, while Holden and Ash were going to be competing.

"You ready for all this?" said Ash, glancing over at Holden in anticipation.

Holden returned his gaze. "Are you?"

They shook hands in allegiance and walked down to the field together. Before leaving, Holden took one last look back at Serena's beautiful blue eyes and saw her lips deliver the words, "Good luck." He nodded in appreciation, and then focused on the tournament ahead. They would both need to battle with everything they had to survive the competition.

There were 256 competitors lined up for the biggest pokémon tournament of the year. To sort things out, the competitors were assigned to pools, with there being a total of four. The final two winners from each pool would be entered into a top eight bracket, which would decide the ultimate winner. Ash was in the first pool, so he was scheduled to battle right away, while Holden had to wait until the fourth pool for his matches to begin. With six different battlefields available, things would move along at a good pace.

Some of the competition in Ash's pool was very serious. Among the trainers battling there were Lorelei the former Kanto Elite Four member, Brock the Pewter City gym leader, Jeanette Fisher a celebrity trainer, Wikstrom from the Kalos Elite Four, Koga from the Kanto Elite Four, Wallace the Regional Champion from Hoenn, and many more. It was definitely true that gym leaders, and especially members of the Elite Four for their region, were powerful trainers in the competition, but they had their flaws. Being in the positions they were in, they were required by the Pokémon League to represent a specialty type, thus they could be overcome by a more balanced team from independent trainers. Often times, the real standouts were Regional Champions, including the most successful one of all: Diantha, who was competing in the third pool today. This was the 8th National Pokémon Championship Series, and Diantha had won the entire event four times in the past…including last year.

Since the first two pools were using three battlefields each for matches, Holden was free to be in Ash's corner to provide coaching. Even with a small team, Ash had accomplished many accolades over the years, which contributed to his status as a legendary pokémon trainer. What made things even more remarkable was that Ash seemed completely unaware at how much he'd inspired young trainers world-wide, but Holden felt that only further demonstrated him to be a class act.

Ash's first opponent was a very young trainer named Ben. The trainers led off with Pikachu versus Feraligatr. It was a decent battle, but Ash's Pikachu eliminated Feraligatr right off the bat. Ben countered with a Leafeon, which resisted electricity, but even that wasn't strong enough to knock out Pikachu. That left only one more choice, and Ben sent out a Hypno. Holden suspected that Ash's Pikachu could have defeated the Hypno as well, but instead Ash pulled him back and sent out Greninja, which would help conserve Pikachu's energy for later matches. Greninja was immune to Hypno's psychic attacks, and the battle was short lived as a result: Ash was victorious.

When the battle ended, Holden prepared to give Ash props, but Ash was busy speaking with young Ben. Before leaving, Ash made sure to give respect and tips to his opponent and Ben was in good spirits when it was all said and done. The entire time, Holden was impressed by Ash's class in the competition, and for the first time in years, he felt outclassed by another trainer. Thinking back to when he used to compete in the tournaments, Holden had been utterly cold-hearted with competition in comparison to Ash.

The National Championship resumed and Ash went on a solid run. He fought a trainer named Michiko, who fought with a team entirely composed of female pokémon. Though it was a tougher battle than the previous one, Ash still won the affair. Next he faced his old friend, Brock, and they had a fun contest which ended in another victory for Ash. After that, Ash took on a very strong trainer named Yuji, who had a Gyarados on his team. The tactic that ended up being key for Ash's victory was saving his Pikachu as his last pokémon, because he had a double effective type advantage over Gyarados. Though Ash had backed himself up against the wall, Pikachu was able to defeat Gyarados and stay fresh, and Yuji's remaining two pokémon—a Hitmonchan and a Toxicroak—were unable to knock Pikachu out. Ash won yet again.

Finally, Ash was one win away from making the top eight in the tournament. His next opponent was Wikstrom, the steel type pokémon specialist from the Kalos Elite Four. Being that he was from the local region, Wikstrom received a lot of support from the crowd. Before the battle began, Ash looked out in the crowd and located Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie, and their support gave him additional strength, even against a local favorite. With a set of heavy armor as his attire, Wikstrom looked like someone out of medieval times. His first pokémon out was Aegislash, which was a mix of steel and ghost type, and a fitting challenge for Ash. With his opponent making the first move, Ash sent out Talonflame, who had the advantage with fire. A thrilling aerial battle took place between both, which ended in Aegislash being victorious despite the disadvantage. Next, Ash sent out Greninja, and Wikstrom elected to return Aegislash to avoid unnecessary damage. His next pick was Klefki, who wasn't particularly strong against Greninja, but proved a challenge all the same. It ended in a double knock down, so both trainers decided to leave it to their final picks, which were made simultaneously. It was Pikachu versus Scizor. The fans cheered in excitement at a fast paced battle which saw Pikachu using his speed to dodge vicious attacks across the field. It was the longest battle of the day so far, and finally Pikachu landed a knockout blow with his thunder, and Ash was victorious.

Ash raised a fist to the air and shouted in glee. The audience gave him plenty of cheers as well, showing good class in spite of having their local trainer, Wikstrom, suffer defeat. After all, Ash was very easy to cheer for. As he walked back off the field, Holden celebrated with him, very proud of his newfound friend for having reached the top eight in his first ever National Championship, which was a tremendous accomplishment.

With the first two pools concluding around the same time, pools three and four began shortly after. Ash left to go visit Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie briefly to share stories about his matches, but he wouldn't be gone long: he intended on being in Holden's corner when he competed next.

Before Holden's first match started, he actually had a brief opportunity to catch Diantha's first battle in pool three. She was up against a popular trainer named Mandi the Astounding, who was known to compete with Executor, Crobat, and Kingdra. Though Diantha's Gardevoir was her signature pokémon, she elected to begin the battle with Tyrantrum, a rock and dragon type. After Tyrantrum grew tired, she sent out another dragon type named Goodra, who closed out the win for her with relative ease. When she finished the match, she somehow found Holden and gave him a smug look. He fought to resist showing any reaction, but inside he felt she was trying to send him a message: she was showcasing her other pokémon instead of using her unstoppable Gardevoir to win easily.

There wasn't time for Holden to observe Diantha's next match, because it was time for him to battle in pool four. His first opponent was a young girl named Kelly, and she was noticeably inexperienced. That wouldn't stop Holden from going all out, though, as that was how he treated any national tournament. He decided to lead out with Kangaskhan, while Kelly chose Ursaring, a bear pokémon. Though both were normal type pokémon, they knew a number of fighting tactics, so it would come down to who landed their super effective attacks first. Ursaring managed to land a couple of nice punches, but Kangaskhan ended up scoring the knock out. Sensing that Kangaskhan was close to going down, Kelly didn't feel too discouraged, and she sent out her Chesnaught, which had been her starter back in the Johto region. Despite Chesnaught being a fighting type, Kangaskhan seemed to catch a second wind and landed a dizzy punch, causing Chesnaught to get confused, and then eventually knocked him out with a body slam. Once she was down two pokémon, Kelly seemed very disheartened. For her last pokémon, she sent out Stantler, who was a deer pokémon with psychic abilities. Though Stantler seemed ready to go at it, Kelly was clearly discouraged from such a poor start, and Holden remained as composed as always, and was doing his trademark tactic of keeping silent while his pokémon fought without instruction. Sure enough, Kangaskhan took out Stantler soon after.

When it was over, Holden walked over to shake Kelly's hand. She didn't even look him in the face when they shook hands, trying to conceal her tears at the bitter defeat. Holden sighed and began to walk away, but he had to pause. After recalling how Ash treated his competition with respect, Holden felt obligated to act better too. After all, if he had been in Kelly's shoes, it would have been an ugly feeling. So, he walked back over to her and got her attention. "It was a good battle."

When Kelly heard his words, she managed to put a pause on her tears long enough to face him. "I wouldn't say that. Your team beat mine easily. I spent so much time training for this." She wasn't even being immature about her failure: she was just taking it very seriously, which made it difficult to actually endure the prospect of defeat.

Holden shook his head, staying calm while making sure to demonstrate compassion. "There's always the possibility of failure. That's what makes victory worth anything. How you face the challenge will help show others how committed you really are. You're a good trainer, with a good team, but you let yourself get discouraged and your pokémon noticed it. Find whatever motivation you need to stay in it until the very end and your pokémon will push it to keep up with you."

Somehow, Holden's words appeared to have a positive effect on Kelly. The aspiring trainer may have suffered a loss, but she found a way to take something important out of the experience, thanks to Holden's willingness to lend some advice. He would have to thank Ash for the inspiration to do so the next time he saw him. It was interesting how kind words could be passed on in this sport.

After his first victory, the others seemed to come even easier. Holden used Venusaur for his second battle, defeating a trainer named Troy without Venusaur suffering too much harm. His third battle was against a trainer named William, where he won with just his Snorlax, when the giant pokémon eventually cornered and body slammed every one of William's pokémon. In the fourth battle, Holden faced Lorelei, the Ice type specialist from the Kanto Elite Four. The audience was behind Lorelei, and was sure that the currently unknown Holden wouldn't stand a chance against her, but they were wrong. Holden's Alakazam defeated Lorelei's Jynx, Cloyster, and Dewgong without even breaking a sweat. Now the audience began to talk about Holden, and word soon spread about his past exploits. Though he'd been gone from competition for years, he was clearly still a talented trainer with a powerful team.

What perplexed viewers the most was how Holden never ushered commands to his pokémon during the fights. As chatter began over his tactics, the viewers quickly shared their observations with family and friends, and the coverage for the event spread rapidly throughout the different regions. There were those who remembered Holden Hoffman from years ago, as well as new viewers who were intrigued by his battle style.

One more battle stood between Holden and the top eight, and he was eager to keep up with his friend, Ash, who'd already reached that point by clearing his own pool. Before he could, he first had to defeat a trainer named Ryo Yoshida, a talented trainer from the Hoenn region who had recently fought the Elite Four in an attempt to win the Regional Championship, only to barely fall short. Today, he led out with Sableye against Holden's Lapras. Once again, Lapras was simply a tank, and took three different attacks from the aggressive Sableye before she landed a surf attack to win the first knockout. Ryo sent out Aggron next, and it delivered some heavy blows to Lapras. Though he wanted to keep winning without switching pokémon, Holden was smart enough to recognize his Lapras was taking too much damage, and for the first time today, he accepted a switch. He sent Kangaskhan back in to land some fighting blows, and things got back on track when he got the second knockout. Finally, Ryo picked Blaziken for his final pick, his starter pokémon, and the pride of his team. Blaziken lived up to his reputation by dealing some heavy blows to Kangaskhan, nearly knocking her out. Just as Blaziken went in for the finishing blow, Kangaskhan launched a surprise attack with a dizzy punch, which combined with Blaziken's forward momentum, was strong enough to knock him out. The battle was over, and Holden had won again.

There was a wild reaction as the spectators were delighted at the thrilling finish. It was rare to see such close pokémon battles such as that one, and the fans of the sport knew it, so they made sure to demonstrate their pleasure with massive applause and cheers. When Holden heard their roars, he couldn't help but grin, for it had been a long time since he'd been in this position. Suddenly, he was simply proud to be back again.

The top eight competitors had emerged from the pools, and they were Holden, Ash, Diantha, Wallace, Jeanette, Takako, Koga, and Yuko. Upon reaching this point, the competitors would enter the top eight bracket based on their rankings prior to the start of the tournament. The order they were ranked had Diantha at the top, then Wallace, Koga, Yuko, Jeanette, Takako, Ash, and finally Holden, having been ranked very low on account of his absence from the sport. Unfortunately, this meant that Holden would face his greatest enemy next: Diantha. Meanwhile, Ash would be against Wallace, who was a tremendous trainer, and a potential to win the whole event.

The competition was now on break until tomorrow, so now the crowds could enjoy the festival taking place for the rest of the day and evening. Holden went with Ash to locate Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie. The crowds had gotten large in size by then, so it was difficult to get through and see anything, but eventually Holden spotted Serena's pink hat. "There they are," he informed Ash, and they hurried over to reach them before they lost sight of them again. Fortunately, Ash moved quickly enough to get in front of them before they were driven away by the crowd, and he yelled to get their attention. Holden was a bit behind, but he picked up the pace so he could catch up, and soon they were all reunited.

The group of friends reconvened over to a nearby clearing where they could speak to each other more comfortably. Naturally, they were very proud of Holden and Ash, since making it into the top eight was an incredible accomplishment. To add to things, this was Ash's first ever National Championship, while Holden hadn't competed in any tournament of any kind for over five years. The downside to all this now was that they were up against the two top favored trainers to win it all.

"I'm so proud of you guys!" said Bonnie, leaping in joy to further demonstrate her glee.

"Seriously, that's amazing," said Clemont. "Another thing is interesting: if you both win your next matches, you'll have to battle each other." Though it was interesting, it was also unfortunate that they weren't on opposite ends of the bracket so they couldn't both make it to the final two.

Despite the details surrounding their positions, Holden remained very quiet. He didn't want to say what was on his mind out loud for them to hear: This was the end of the line for both of them.

Eventually, Serena noticed Holden seem distant. After spending quite a bit of time with Holden recently, she was keen to his emotions now. "You got something on your mind," she got his attention. "What are you thinking?"

When he gazed at her, he quickly attempted to conceal his negative thoughts by burying them, but Serena had solid awareness. "Our next matches will be the biggest challenges. Ash has a good chance of beating Wallace, in my opinion, but me…." Serena remembered Holden's stories about Diantha. He'd never beaten Diantha in a pokémon battle, and if anything, she was stronger now than ever before. Just considering what Holden was up against, even Serena could sense that it was a mountain of pressure.

With what was at stake, Serena elected to speak on what she knew. "Holden, whatever happens out there, you're gonna give it everything you've got, and so are your pokémon. In the end, that's what matters today. A week ago, you weren't even going to be here, yet here you are. I can tell you enjoy the feeling of competing again. You have so much talent, and you've already accomplished plenty with your return."

Holden wanted to groan and resist the borderline sappy words of advice from Serena, but he found them to be very effective. In the past, he probably would have paid it no mind, but things were different this time around. The bottom line was that she was absolutely right, and he couldn't defy her regardless of whether he utilized logic or emotion. "Serena…" he began, but ultimately stopped. She looked into his eyes with curiosity, but softly accepted his desire to stay silent. Whatever was the best way to support him in the competition, she would give it to him.

At the time, it was hard for Holden to put into words what kind of effect Serena's kindness had on him, but there were most certainly effects.

For now, the friends went off to enjoy the festival together. Tomorrow, the competition would resume, and then they would worry about the battles. Until then, they could enjoy their companionship together, especially Holden, who now had a new group of friends he would always hold dear to him.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11.

The next day arrived and it was time to commence the final eight tournament bracket for the National Championship. For this part of the tournament, the fields were kept empty, but the two middle battlefields from each side of the stadium were combined into one, so the finals would take place in the center of everything. Once the bracket began, it would go on until a champion was crowned. Aside from a match between the two runner ups for third place, the last match of the day would be the final two trainers.

Without further ado, it was time to begin the first match: Holden versus Diantha. Before things were under way, the protocol was for the two of them to shake hands and simultaneously declare the pokémon they were starting with. When Serena heard about the format, she knew right away things would get heated with those two.

Holden slowly walked over toward Diantha, and right away, he saw that look of hatred on her face. She paused before her meeting point, in an attempt to force Holden to walk farther. Holden sighed irritably, but he was barely fazed. He increased his pace and walked aggressively to where she was standing. Moments later, they were only a few feet apart, and the tension was high.

A tournament official arrived to oversee the encounter. "On the count of three, both of you must name your first pokémon selection out loud to be clearly heard. If one of you fails to provide a choice at the end of the count, your opponent will have the option of switching their pick after you make yours. Okay, let's begin. One…."

"Scizor," said Holden right away, not waiting for the count to reach three. There were some gasps from the audience, and even one from Diantha. Holden made sure he was looking her right in the eyes when he made his pick. It was a direct challenge, and Diantha grew even angrier as a result.

The T.O. wasn't pleased with Holden's disregard for the protocol, but he had not actually broken the rules in the process. "Very well, Holden. Diantha, you may now choose your first pokémon as you please." Diantha didn't respond at all and just glared at Holden, as memories of their past feud began to come back to her. This was the young trainer who had tormented her and the community for years with his antics, and now he was back again. She didn't want to just beat him: she wanted to send him back to retirement.

"Okay, now let's shake hands, and then the match will begin," said the T.O. It was the only point of the encounter where both Holden and Diantha looked away from each other, because they simultaneously gave the T.O. an annoyed glance, and then they turned to go to their positions on the field. The T.O. sighed and left, not pleased with how that went. The spectators, however, were roaring with cheers of excitement. This was much different than the typical pokémon tournament, and they welcomed the change. Diantha was the defending champion, but seeing someone oppose her with such defiance caught everyone's attention.

Holden already determined his starter, and he didn't waste any more time. He tossed the pokéball and released Scizor onto the field. The tall, red, praying mantis pokémon snarled and surveyed the surroundings as he awaited his opponent to appear.

The wait wasn't a long one. Diantha tossed her first orb and her pick was revealed: Gardevoir. There were gasps in the audience in response, since this was the first time Gardevoir had made an appearance the entire tournament. Until this point, it appeared as though Diantha wanted to showcase her alternate pokémon on the path to victory. However, now, she had elected to abandon that plan so that she could simply wipe out Holden's team as quickly as possible with her strongest pokémon.

Suddenly, Scizor took a glance back at Holden, where he noticed his trainer place his right hand in a V-shape over the front of his left shoulder. Though Holden didn't physically voice commands during the matches, he did have codes to issue his team in certain instances, and this was one of them. It had been such a subtle move that no one else had noticed it, except for one person out in the audience: Clemont. "Did you guys see that?" he mentioned to Serena and Bonnie.

"See what?" asked Bonnie.

Clemont pointed as he explained himself. "I just saw Holden give some sort of signal to Scizor. He _does_ give instructions to his team, but he does it in hidden codes. That's very smart." Serena nodded and looked out once again at Holden, hoping to see it for herself, except now he wasn't giving any others. That was all part of his battle strategy, and it was almost artistic.

The question now, was would it be _enough_?

"Gardevoir," said Diantha, and her prize pokémon glanced at her master. "Get rid of him…_quickly_." Once she said it, she removed something from her purse and held it up. It was hard to see at first, but then she put the object around her left wrist, thus revealing it to be a bracelet. Once it was in place, Diantha smiled for the first time, only it was a sinister one. She pressed her right index and middle fingers against the bracelet, which activated some sort of glowing light. Moments later, Gardevoir began to glow as well, and was surrounded by surging light. Then in a flash, the light show was over and Gardevoir was in a new form. Her white dress was considerably larger than before and her face was no longer hidden by the green hair.

Diantha had activated a mega stone, and this was now Mega Gardevoir.

The audience exploded into cheers of excitement at the sight of a mega pokémon, which was a rare event. It was a fitting time for Diantha to summon her Mega Gardevoir now deep in the National Championship, for it was against Holden.

Now in mega form, Gardevoir approached Scizor. Diantha got straight to it. "Gardevoir, use future sight." The fairy pokémon sent psychic waves into the air above, which appeared to vanish. Holden knew all too well that the attack would come raining down at an undisclosed time, so Scizor would need to keep his guard up. "Gardevoir," said Diantha, "Use psychic!" Next Gardevoir directly attacked Scizor with psychic blasts. Scizor crossed his metallic claws in front of him and braced for the impact. He was resistant to psychic power, but this was still no ordinary opponent, and he cringed in pain from the pressure.

Scizor needed to find a chance to attack before he was hit by the future sight, so as soon as Gardevoir ended the psychic attack, he used double team to conceal his location. Along the way, the real Scizor attacked with metal claw, which in turn caused the doubles to attack as well. This didn't stop Diantha from shouting out commands to attack. "Use imprison…now!"

Suddenly, the Scizor doubles all vanished in an instant, and the real Scizor was exposed. Imprison was a move that prevented the opponent from using an attack that Gardevoir knew too, and one of her abilities was double team. Therefore, Scizor's double team was shut down…and he was in plain sight and exposed. Gardevoir powered up and prepared to land moonblast, knowing that Diantha would order that next. Scizor raised his claws once again to defend the large blast.

That was when the future sight attack rained down on him. It collided with his back, and Scizor was knocked down from the impact. "Use moonblast now!" shouted Diantha. It went as commanded, and Gardevoir's attack was devastating. Despite having type advantages against her, Scizor was unable to withstand the onslaught and he was knocked unconscious. Holden exhaled deeply, fighting to keep his emotions in check, even in spite of the disastrous start.

Once he returned Scizor, Holden chose to send out Lapras next. As powerful as Lapras was, Diantha's Gardevoir was on a quest for destruction thanks to her enraged master. Gardevoir unleashed numerous psychic attacks, coupled with a moonblast, and Lapras was defeated soon after. The audience was cheering in support for Diantha, but there was a notable trace of disappointment in their applause at the prospect of Holden beginning to lose so quickly.

With only one final pokémon left to fight, Holden sent out Snorlax. Gardevoir resumed the onslaught, and Snorlax was too slow to land attacks amidst taking so many hits. Though he endured longer than the previous two, he was never able to land any offense, and finally Holden had enough. He returned Snorlax to the pokéball before he could be knocked out, sensing it was a lost cause.

The battle was over, and Diantha had beaten Holden without having a single one of her pokémon knocked out: a flawless victory.

Everyone was cheering for Diantha's victory…except for Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie. They looked on in shock and were suddenly very saddened. Leading up to this point, they couldn't even imagine Holden losing a battle with how powerful his pokémon were, yet he'd been dominated by Diantha. At last, they realized how accurate Holden's portrayal of Diantha's Gardevoir was: she was definitely one of the most powerful pokémon in the world.

Reporters ran onto the scene, eager to speak to the winner, Diantha. While all that went on, Holden quickly made his exit from the field and tried to separate himself from everything. It was incredibly painful to suffer such a hit, especially after coming so far in the tournament.

Ash was soon by Holden's side. "Tough break, Holden...you did your best." Holden was quiet again, but he nodded in response. Ash placed a hand on Holden's shoulder in support, and then they walked off together. There wasn't much time remaining before the next match…which was Ash facing off against Wallace. Though he was reeling after the loss, Holden would still remain in Ash's corner to support his friend.

When the battle did get underway, things were similarly overwhelming. Wallace was the champion of the Hoenn region, and he lived up to his reputation. As was his trademark, he let his Milotic lead off the battle. Ash chose to start with Pikachu, since he was previously aware of Wallace's predictable first pick. Thanks to this knowledge, Ash's Pikachu was able to knock out Milotic with his powerful electric attacks.

Wallace sent out Ludicolo next, since it was more resistant to Pikachu. It paid off, and Ludicolo made short work of the already fatigued Pikachu. Next, Ash sent out Talonflame, in an attempt to prey on the grass aspect of Wallace's second pick. However, Ludicolo focused on water attacks very effectively, and Talonflame couldn't keep airborne once its wings were so heavily soaked with liquid. Thanks to this handicap, Ludicolo knocked out Talonflame shortly after. For his final pick, Ash sent out Greninja, hoping that his power would make up for a slight disadvantage in typing long enough to make it against Wallace's final pick. Unfortunately, it was not to be, because Ludicolo was well-versed in grass attacks, and attacked with moves like seed bomb and giga drain, which eventually wore out Greninja too much and finished him as well.

It was over, and Wallace beat Ash with a final score of three to one.

The audience cheered once again, and Wallace posed in adoration. Ash sighed but made sure to walk over to his superior opponent and offer a hand shake. Wallace nodded in respect and returned the gesture, upholding sportsmanship far better than Diantha had with Holden. It was a good run, and Ash was not greatly bothered by the loss. In fact, making it this far on his first try was still very impressive, and he believed it. Next time, he would work even harder. Every year, he would try harder, and lift the bar higher.

"Good battle, Ash," said Holden. He meant it, too, and Ash knew it. If anything, Ash had at least gotten off to a good start taking advantage of Wallace's predictable first pick, but Holden felt the need to explain things further. "It was good to have a strong start with Pikachu against his Milotic, but Wallace is still a water specialist. He is experienced enough to strategize feeding off his opponent's knowledge of his first pick, so he expected your Pikachu to come out first. Next time, you'll need to mix things up more it seems, though it won't be easy."

It was solid advice, and Ash nodded as he took it in. "Come on. Let's go back to the others." They left the field and reconvened with their friends. This time around, they hadn't returned with a victory, so the mood was much different.

"That was rough," said Clemont, though he was mindful of their positions. "You guys fought hard, but I guess Diantha and Wallace are just that good."

Serena clenched her hands together as she looked at Holden with concern. She quickly noticed how down he seemed, and so she went up to him and leaned against his shoulder. "You did well, Holden. You did really well…" She almost felt heartbroken seeing him suffer such a defeat, especially after knowing his history with Diantha. What else could she say to him?

Then to her surprise, Holden looked up at her and was grinning. That caused Serena to smile in confusion as she wondered what was on his mind. "That was…amazing. I enjoyed that. I enjoyed that very much." Though she wanted him to be optimistic, it still seemed odd how he was taking the loss. "She's gotten even stronger than I remembered…and I fell behind. But now, I'm back. I'm going to keep competing. I'm going to find a way to win it all."

Rather than moving in to console him, Serena took a few steps back and gave him space. Holden was a natural competitor, as if he was born to do this. It made perfect sense that his return to competition sparked his drive back to life. This wasn't going to be the last of him, and she knew it now.

Two days later, it was time for Holden to return back home. After wrapping up a few more errands during the day, he spent the rest of his time with Serena, offering to buy her dinner to repay her for all of her support during his competition. After all, she'd delayed on numerous responsibilities of her own to go watch him compete.

Now, the day had come and Holden cleared his things out of Professor Sycamore's lab. The professor said his farewell to Holden first, promising to go visit him again in the Kanto region within a couple months. Holden intended to hold him to it, especially since Professor Oak lived out there, and was eager to meet with Sycamore to acquire information about mega stones.

Ash promised to train harder than ever before thanks to Holden's lessons. It had been a great experience for Holden to meet the legendary pokémon trainer, and he was proud to call him a friend now. Clemont and Bonnie had been good friends as well, and had always treated Holden with good hospitality in the Kalos region. He would miss all of them.

Once the others had said their piece, they gave the two of them some time so that Serena could see him off. She walked with Holden and glanced at the train station, only to quickly avert her eyes. "I don't want you to leave," she announced with a saddened grin.

Holden nodded, feeling saddened as well. "I never expected to meet such a special friend like you out here," he told her. "I'm…I'm going to miss you a lot, Serena." As soon as he said the words, Serena lunged at him with a strong hug, embracing him so tightly that he had trouble breathing. He couldn't help but laugh while coughing, and eventually he broke her grip slightly.

"When are you coming back?" she asked with hope in her voice.

"I don't know," was his answer. "But I will. I promise."

Serena felt strong urges within her as she began to realize Holden was leaving. Even with his strong words, there was a distinct possibility that she would never see him again. This made her feel uneasy inside, and she badly wished to express her feelings, yet she couldn't. He had a life far away from her, and it was not meant to be. Holden leaving today was proof of that. At least, in her mind it was.

That didn't make things any easier, and she hugged him again. They remained in a warm embrace for some time, and then finally Holden broke away. "Goodbye," he told her, his voice collapsing as he said it. Serena felt tiny tears form under her eyes when she heard it. Without a doubt, she knew he cared strongly for her, simply based on that.

"Goodbye, Holden…" she said with a quiet whimper, and Holden was soon out of sight on his way to the train.

THE END


End file.
